Written Out
by petrarchan1008
Summary: Chloe surfaces 10 years after she was abducted during Dark Thursday only to find that the world has changed considerably while she was gone. ChlarkChruce depending on which way the story decides to go. PostFreak & connecting events in Superman Returns.
1. Chapter 1

WRITTEN OUT

Summary: Chloe is returned ten years after she was abducted during Dark Thursday. Probably Chlark / Chruce. Set Post-Freak. Connecting events as told in the movie Superman Returns.

Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville, Superman or Batman

Chapter One

"_What do you hear Lois?"_

"_I hear nothing."_

"_You say the world does not need a hero but every day I hear them call for one."_

I don't know how I know that voice or how I hear him so often in my head. Sometimes speaking with his mother. At times with a difficult woman who I would love to hate but I cannot. Strange. I want to talk to him and ask him. The need to ask him, why he didn't hear me was so strong but I couldn't get the words out or to get my mind to order my mouth to say it. I watch the television and he's there all the time. He seemed to have been lost for a while and now is back. I was lost too. I am aware of a time when I knew I could do so much more than blink, remember so much more than the day before yesterday or my name, believe so much more that I had more of a life than this. But it seemed so long ago and they run through my mind like the water seeping out of my hands when an orderly brings me to the pool for therapy. Somehow I feel that I know this hero that everyone keeps on talking about and ask him why he heard everyone except me, who called him by name – a name that I think is Clark although, everyone knows him by something else now. Superman. I have a feeling that I don't have much time. I wish that he would hear me now.

It was a quiet night at Belle Reve where Dr. Hawkins was reviewing a case file of a young woman who was brought some time ago. It wasn't just that the case was of interest from a medical standpoint but the manner in which she was found and given to Belle Reve is a source of curiosity as well. The young woman was found by a winged dark vigilante from Gotham and consigned to the care of the sole heir of Wayne Enterprises. She was cared for in Gotham General Hospital for over 2 years and though the medical expenses rose without much hope for a recovery, the eccentric billionaire made sure that she had the best care possible. Not even the fact that she was comatose for all of that period, did Bruce Wayne think of stopping any of her treatments. It was fodder for the rumor mills as to who she was or how she is related to Bruce Wayne. Some say the young woman was Wayne's paramour and that one night of too much partying involving some experimentation with illegal stimulants resulted in making the unknown woman no more than a vegetable dependent on the machines to keep her alive. People say that it was Bruce's guilt that kept the support coming. Romantics say that she was the love of his life – though no one has ever seen her with him before being hospitalized. But it is the more pragmatic possibility that Dr. Hawkins subscribes to. The seasoned medical expert was aware of the younger Wayne's exploits and reputation and though the woman was blonde and obviously quite attractive, she seemed to be too young to fit Bruce's "type". To the doctor, it seemed that the most plausible reason for the young man's interest are the research benefits that could catapult Wayne Enterprises ahead of its more aggressive and more insidious competitor, Luthor Technologies, and it was this that fueled his continued benevolence. It wasn't over but a year ago when the young woman woke up from her coma, the Wayne heir visited her but she was no more alive compared to her previous state. She neither talked nor showed any reaction. The hospital being hounded by paparazzis 24-7, she was almost transferred to Arkham Asylum by the hospital administration when fate once again stepped in. The young woman who remained unknown was transferred to Belle Reve under cover of nightfall by the same Caped Crusader who found her and there she remained still. Bruce Wayne has not visited her since then. Although, her savior came once every week to peer into the window of her isolation room and "borrow" her progress reports from the good doctor's office which he would almost always find returned the next day.

Dr. Hawkins was brought on the case initially because of the lure of the Wayne funding but later on conceded that it is an opportunity not to be missed. A thorough examination of the young woman has shown that she was of perfectly good health – although not completely in possession of her faculties. She seemed to be suffering from some post-traumatic stress and remained unresponsive. All known medical and psychological treatments have been tried and the case has gradually caught the attention of the medical community because of how singularly extraordinary was the young woman's condition. Though the young woman appeared to be no more than 18 years old, medical tests indicated that she was about 30 to 35 years old. So it was that Dr. Hawkins was mulling over the latest DNA results of the Jane Doe, when a nurse barged in and jolted him out of his reverie.

"Dr. Hawkins, you have to see this. It's our Jane Doe. She's… she's talking."

The good doctor hesitated for a beat and then dropped the case file he was studying. He moved towards the ward where she was kept with an agility and speed that belied his age. Not stopping to see whether the nurse was behind him, he shouted out his instructions, "Nurse Jenkins, please call for Bruce Wayne. I would imagine that he would be interested to know this."

The young woman was huddled in a corner in the dark when he got there. Dr. Hawkins made a move to open the lights but thought against it. Two burly orderlies were at the door ready to intervene should the situation prove to be more dangerous. He approached her cautiously and spoke slowly in a soothing voice, "Hello. Don't be afraid. You are safe."

A scratchy and uncertain voice issued out from the huddled figure. "Where am I?"

"You're in Belle Reve."

The woman's face shot up and wild eyes met his. She stood up and made for the door, "No you must be mistaken. I have to get away. I have to find a friend of mine. I … I can't remember who he is but he ... he needs to know something urgently."

Dr. Hawkins gently grabbed her wrist and one of the orderlies made a move toward them when he was signaled by the doctor to remain where he was. "Wait. You cannot go anywhere. You have been ill for a long time. We have to make sure you're okay."

A frightened whine came from the woman and she appeared quite agitated. She was looking furtively around and nearly broke her wrist as she wrenched it from Dr. Hawkins grasp. Holding her skinny arms around her, she started to pace away. Then all of a sudden she stopped moving. Her head was cocked to one side and her mouth wordlessly started to move about as if she was talking to someone else. Dr. Hawkins motioned for the orderly to get a shot of Thropizone from the medical cabinet that stood outside the ward. The young woman's hand shot out and grabbed the doctor and pleaded, "Look, you must think I'm crazy but you have to believe me. I lived in 4590 Stonewall Avenue, Smallville. I was a senior at Met U and my friend's name is Clark Kent. He lives in the Kent Farm with his mother Martha and his father Jonathan. Please, please can you try to contact him for me? He knows who I am and he knows that I'm not crazy."

"Okay Miss. Why don't you sit down and we'll try to find out if you have a relative or a guardian at that address. In the meantime, do you remember anything at all before you were found in Gotham?"

"Gotham? I was in Gotham City? If you don't mind Doctor…"

"Hawkins. Dr. Hawkins. I have been your attending psychiatrist since you were transferred here over a year ago."

She licked her lips and swallowed before continuing, "Uhm. Please can I have a coffee and the Daily Planet. I'm feeling kind of parched."


	2. Chapter 2

WRITTEN OUT

Summary: Chloe is returned ten years after she was abducted during Dark Thursday. Probably Chlark / Chruce. Set Post-Freak. Connecting events as told in the movie Superman Returns.

Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville, Superman or Batman

Chapter Two

It was about a year ago when Martha Kent was buried beside her husband, leaving the large expanse of land to her only son Clark Kent. But though, Clark owned the land and knew as much about it as Jonathan Kent, he opted to sub-contract the management of the farm to Kyle Fordham who was a distant cousin of his former classmate Whitney Fordham. After falling on hard times and losing Whitney when he enlisted for duty at Iraq, the Fordhams were left with nothing but a rundown shop in a rundown town. Smallville was a place that people came from – not somewhere people go to intentionally. And so that entire part of Kansas seemed to fall by the wayside. At the same time, Clark had always felt sad going back home with the knowledge that it hasn't been one in a long time. All the people he has known are long dead or missing and he has forged a new life as a big city reporter. He had always felt like a sore thumb in Smallville and he feels that even more today. Not that he felt any differently in Metropolis but at least the anonymity of being just one of the statistics in a very populous place is enough security for him. Yes, he belonged in Metropolis now and the Fordhams needed some way to augment their earnings. It was an ideal situation. Though Kyle Fordham has moved into the Kent Farm, Clark still had the keys to the Kent Farm and an open invitation to drop in anytime which he normally does once a month to check up on what's needed and how things are in general.

So it was not unusual that Clark Kent was seen one early Saturday morning crossing the threshold into the Kent home and dropping his keys on the kitchen counter top which used to be Martha's domain. It was also not unusual that Clark would pick up the mail and go through it to look for errant posts despite his constant reminders to the local postal service to forward his mail to his Metropolis address. It was also not unusual for him to grab a cookie from the jar which Mrs. Fordham kindly replenishes every week while perusing the mail and pushing on the button of the phone to retrieve messages from the voice mail box which was normally empty. What was most unusual was that today it was not.

"_Mr. Kent, this is Dr. Hawkins from Belle Reve. I believe you know one of our patients. A certain Ms. Chloe Sullivan. I daresay, you would find it a bit Dickensian but she has just been recently recalled to life and is asking for you. Anyway, if you do know a Ms. Sullivan, we hope you could find some time to drop by. If not, we apologize for the confusion. You may contact me at Belle Reve and ask the front desk to put you through Research Dept for Neuro Dysfunction. So, well then, cheerio!"_

Not longer than 5 seconds have lapsed after Dr. Hawkin's taped message has ended, a gust of wind blew throughout the entire house and was felt to be directed towards the attic, where Clark can now be seen staring at a photograph of himself, a handsome dark-complexioned young man and an impish-looking blonde all at the height of their youth.

Later in the day, with the photograph tucked in his suit pocket, Clark Kent stepped out of the Belle Reve gardens where some of the patients were out sunning themselves. He approached a young woman in a wheelchair, with her back to him, hunched over as if trying to keep herself warm. He steels himself for yet another disappointment as he moves forward then draws back in hesitation and finally mustering the courage to step forward again, tentatively calling out his question, "Chloe?"

The young woman's head slowly looks up and the wheelchair turns to face him. Clark Kent was not known to be someone who is easily taken by surprise but as it is a day of irregularity, he lets out a shaky breath as he kneels in front of the young woman, "Chlo, where have you been all these time?"

The woman smiles tentatively, painfully aware that she is now in front of the man she has been in love with since the man was a boy. Her voice soft and wispy from want of use, she tries out the only word that she has the strength to utter, "Clark?"

Clark seeks out the truth in Chloe's eyes. There have been far too many impostors in the past. He gently grasps both her arms which were painfully thin and scarred and dared to ask, "How did this happen?"

"Clark," as she cocks her head to one side and squints against the glare of the sun. "I was about to ask you the same question. Wait, haven't I taught you anything?! Won't you even try to find out if it is truly me?" She shakes her head in mild disbelief but her eyes twinkle in humor. A fact that would have thrown off any of the orderlies as it was a sign of life that they have never seen on her before.

"Well, yes. I was. I was going to. Though I feel that I don't need to but…" he fumbles for the picture in his suit pocket and hands it to her.

Wordlessly, she takes it from him and glances briefly at it before gently shoving it back into his hands which surprised her now dwarfed her own. "It's you, me and Pete, the summer before he moved to Witchita. We were at Crater's Lake because you wanted to go for a swim which was just an excuse to drive by Lana's house in the hopes of catching a glimpse of her." Not tearing off her eyes from him as she says this.

Apologizing for testing her out, "Chloe, I knew that it was you even before you said that."

"Well it pays to be always vigilante Clark. Not all of us can afford to be as hopeful of the goodness of mankind. Would you be so kind to push me around? It's stuffy and I feel that everything has moved on and I'm still stuck in the same place literally."

Clark unlocks the brakes on her wheelchair and push her farther away from the Belle Reve building. Understanding her need to get away from prying eyes and ears. Trying to make light of the situation, "Chloe, I see you haven't aged a day since I last saw you at the Daily Planet before Zod came."

"I see that you have. You're different yet the same. You remember that day too Clark? I don't remember much after. I can only recall waking up yesterday. How long have I been gone?"

"Ten years. Going on eleven." Clark's eyes fixed on a distant point unseeing as he parks the wheelchair near a row of azaleas.

"Oh. That long? Tell me about you Clark. Bring me up to speed. I don't think you've been staying away from trouble since I went away. Saw you on the front page of the Daily Planet. I must say red and blue was always your color but I never thought that you would wear anything but plaid. Imagine my shock when I see you in form-skimming spandex. I must say the girls must be getting more than what they bargained for in their superheroes these days." Chloe smirks in his direction.

At a loss, Clark stalls thinking of where to begin. Becoming Superman. Dating Lois. Nearly dying and then finding out that he has a child not just with any woman but with Lois. Between Lois and himself, it would be difficult to untangle the secrets within secrets on who he is and just who the father really is but that's one baggage they can try to unload sometime later.

Chloe reaches up to shake Clark out of his stupor, "Clark, come back. As far as superhero fashion faux pas goes, it's not as bad as some of those I know"

Realizing that he was with someone, Clark covers her hand with his. "Well, the costume was Mom's idea actually. She made it. I asked her to think of something and the next thing I know I was being fitted for something that she has already made If I had my way, it would probably be less 'hey-check-me-out' and more 'now-you-see-me-now-you-don't', functional kind of clothing. I wasn't going to wear it but how could I explain to her if I went out and had pictures taken of looking like Zorro."

"Way to go Mrs. Kent. You must've pissed her off. How is she by the way?"

"She died. About a year ago."

"God Clark. I'm sorry. I've always envied you for having Martha in your life. You don't know how many nights and family holidays, I wished that I had a mother like yours."

"Well, yeah I'm really lucky on that count." Clark looks down at his hands, suddenly interested in its etched lines.

Chloe was scared to find out who else have gone since she left. Not one to delay knowing the truth, she gulps in air and asks, "Have you tried to keep in touch with my Dad?"

Clark squirms uncomfortably at that. He tried so hard to stay connected, driven by a misguided sense of responsibility to Chloe. But Gabe Sullivan shut out everyone in the outside world after Chloe went missing. He traveled from state to state, not caring what happens looking for a clue to find his daughter but none came. It's as if the world had swallowed her up and everything else about her that could prove that she has ever existed went up in smoke. It was not too long after that he even doubted whether she ever existed. He quit his job and went from one halfway house to another. By the time Clark found him, he was dying of cirrhosis. He didn't know what to say to Chloe about her dad but figured that she would find out sooner or later and that it is better she finds out from him, "Chloe, your dad. He…he passed away. I'm sorry."

Shock. Grief. Loneliness. Fear. It's amazing how much of her emotions can be seen in her eyes in just a few seconds. Then just as quickly, she pulls herself together. "How?"

Save for the catch in her voice and the way she said it, anyone would think just looking at her that she was not hurting.

"Cirrhosis." Clark saved her from the painful details. There was no need to know about that now. They were silent for a few minutes. Clark stealing a glance at the lost little girl in the wheelchair and on the verge of saying something, anything to assure her that things will turn out fine but couldn't bring himself to say.

"Did he die alone?"

"No. Lois and I were there when he … died."

"Thank you. I'm glad that was someone was there for him. How is Lois by the way?"

Not another land mine. It was still fresh on Clark's mind what Chloe felt for him. And though he was not vain enough to suppose that she would still be in love with him, he decided to play it safe and not be entirely forthcoming with the other details that she could best handle some other time. The news about her father was overwhelming enough as it is and so the cliff notes on their relationship would be enough. "She's still Lois. Though, she refuses to acknowledge that she knew me before. We work together in the Planet." The guilt piling up higher. It's not as if that was a bold-faced lie. They did work for the Planet. Lois hated his guts as Clark Kent but was totally in love with him as Superman to the point that she bore a son.

"That's good. I wish I could see her."

Saved from having to make another response that would require another gigantic omission of the truth, an orderly interrupts their tête-à-tête, "Chloe, it's time for your medication, dearie. Say goodbye to your sweet young man."

Chloe looks at the orderly in sadness and turns her gaze back to Clark. She whispers, "Clark, please take me with you. These people think I'm crazy. You have to believe me. I'm not." As she says so, her hand grips Clark's arms fiercely.

"I wish I could but I can't. These people can help you."

"Please. Please Clark. I'm scared. Just help me get out of here. I promise, I won't be in your way." Her eyes now pool with unshed tears. By this time the orderly had reached them and was prying off her fingers from Clark's arm.

"I can't Chlo. You know I'd do anything."

The orderly talks down to her like he would to an irritable 5-year old, "Come now Chloe. You must try not to over-excite yourself one bit."

Chloe's blue eyes register defeat. Their gazes lock and she drops her gaze first. "Okay. Clark. Thank you for the visit. Please do try to come again." With that she allowed herself to be wheeled back in and Clark was left gazing at the retreating figures and his guilt, which was the only thing he has let himself feel for her, was tripled in weight that he nearly couldn't get his feet to move and head on back to Metropolis.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Summary: Chloe is returned ten years after she was abducted during Dark Thursday. Probably Chlark / Chruce. Set Post-Freak. Connecting events as told in the movie Superman Returns.

Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville, Superman or Batman

Author's Note: Apologize for the delay. Real life can be so disruptive sometimes. I would greatly appreciate feedback on how the story is progressing. More Bruce Wayne in coming chapters.

The days have a way of playing a trick on those who wait – making it seem like each day is the same as the other. It wasn't like Clark at all to avoid anything but it has been weeks since he came by. At first, Chloe would ask to be pushed outside but eventually, as the shadows lengthened and waned without any news of her friend, she has stopped waiting outside in the sun and has since then only consented to being pushed out to stay at the patient's general lobby, spending hours sitting patiently, not flinching and looking out the window. Pretending not to wait but waiting nevertheless. Dr. Hawkins observed Chloe from afar and was worried that she would regress before he ever found out what was wrong. His calls to Bruce Wayne were unheeded and he was extremely frustrated by the seeming non-interest when the young billionaire has given enough indications in the past to be summoned as soon as there were any new developments. Billionaires and their fickle-mindedness! Never mind him though.

Luthor Technologies were in contact with him regarding case # 3506 which is the unique id by which Chloe's case was known. For some reason, Dr. Hawkins was reticent about the full details and wanted to keep her away from the radar of the steel gray eyes of one Alexander Luthor. On the other hand though, Batman was no stranger. He has come in no less than 3 times in the last week since Chloe "awakened" and was often found watching her from afar. Curious indeed the obsession of this enigmatic figure but Dr. Hawkins was not one to speculate and share stories by the water-cooler. As Chloe continued to stake her position by the window just like every other day, the despondent air about her hovering like a cloak she could not shake off, Dr. Hawkins was bent on getting her to interact with other people again or lose her. The last word she had ever said was almost a month ago and it was only to say "Yes" when the orderly asked if she wanted to stay in. So Dr. Hawkins tried to step out of the background and pulled up a chair just right behind her.

He clears his throat, "Mademoiselle, it is too beautiful a day to stay cooped up inside?"

Chloe remains still and unresponsive. Her face averted from him, her eyes fixed at a far point into the horizon.

Dr. Hawkins taps nervously on his clipboard and started playing with his retractable pen. The soft click-clicking sound was loud and distracting but it's as if Chloe did not hear all this. "Ms. Sullivan, I was in touch with your young friend Mr. Kent but it seems that he's out on assignment in Argentina."

An almost imperceptible sigh was all that gave away any indication that Chloe heard anything at all. With that, Dr. Hawkins pushes himself off the chair and then leaves the room. Twilight has set in and the room was suffused with shadows when Dr. Hawkins decided to look back and give one last look when a whisper seemed to ruffle the shadows in the room, "Dr. Hawkins, I think I asked you for copies of the Daily Planet in the last ten years. I don't think I've gotten anything more than back issues of the past couple of weeks. Could you…"

Nonplussed by this request, Dr. Hawkins stops and says, "Anything for the young lady. I'll give Mr. Wayne a call. He might be able to help us scrounge around for something. In the meantime, if there's anything you would like to converse about, please feel free to approach me anytime.

-----

Dr. Hawkins did not renege on her request. The next day, a microfiche machine was installed in Chloe's room with a handwritten note, bearing the name to whom Chloe owes her gratitude. No one was surprised more than Dr. Hawkins when the said machine was brought in by none other than the infamous Bruce Wayne himself, who took time out from his lothario activities to oversee the installation. Chloe was not present to witness the commotion that ensued when Mr. Wayne breezed in and had all of the nursing population in love with him before he left because she was in the pool area for her weekly therapy. So when Chloe came into her room, seeing the microfiche machine was beyond her expectations while her generous benefactor was at that very moment being ushered out by a buxom blonde orderly named Fanny.

Torn between not wasting time and not appearing ungrateful, Chloe decided to head to Dr. Hawkins office to thank him personally and to send the note of appreciation that she has drafted for Bruce Wayne. Chloe knocked timidly on Dr. Hawkins office door After ten minutes, of no response, she was about to go back up when the door opened to a dishevelled and slightly disoriented Dr. Hawkins.

"Dr. Hawkins?"

Beads of perspiration made its way down Dr. Hawkins' face and he had to blink to compose himself. "Oh…Chloe…sorry. I didn't hear you."

"Dr. Hawkins are you alright?" Concern was etched across Chloe's face.

"Oh that's nothing, Ms. Sullivan. I think my blood sugar has gone really low plus I have a peptic ulcer." Dr. Hawkins shuffled into the room, mopping his brow.

"Well do you need a doctor?"

A guttural sound emanated from Dr. Hawkins which Chloe thought was choking at first when she realized that the older gentleman was laughing. "No. Nothing that a cola wouldn't fix. Would you be a dear and grab me any cola in the vending machine right outside?" He waved a couple of dollars Chloe's way and Chloe wheeled herself right out as fast as she could. Returning with a cold can of cola in her hand, she was not prepared for the sight that met her eyes. Dr. Hawkins was shooting up something in his arm and not one to let anything go, Chloe clears her throat at the door.

Dr. Hawkins hastily threw the empty syringe into the trash can. "Ah, Ms. Sullivan, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

Chloe wheels herself into the room and stays near the door. "Oh! Uhm I just wanted to thank you for the microfiche machine. I was also wondering if you could get this to Mr. Wayne," handing her note to Dr. Hawkins

"No problem Ms. Sullivan. Apparently, you have quite an influence with Mr. Wayne."

"I don't really know what you mean Dr. Hawkins. I've never actually met him and I've quite an aversion to all billionaires. Can't really say that my past has anything to recommend that lot."

"Do tell me, Ms. Sullivan. Do you remember how you were found? Or who found you?"

"Unfortunately, all I can remember was waking. Anything beyond that is a blank slate. I was hoping that I could piece together what happened to me and a review of the last 10 years seems to be the best place to start. Considering that I slept through all of them."

"Well, that seems to be the long way to go about it. I do think that unlocking your memories just requires having the key to unlock it from your brain. I'm developing a new technology. I would like to ask you whether you would be interested in participating in a placebo test when I've obtained the appropriate clearance with the FDA."

Chloe raises her eyebrow at this, "Well, that is indeed something new. I've always thought that placebos were conducted on homeless people against their will. I'm not quite used to having the courtesy of being asked before I'm tested. But I'll think about it. Thanks for asking." She starts to manoeuvre out of Dr. Hawkins' office when she turns back and approaches his desk, "Oh, before I forget. Here's your cola. Next time you may want to be careful and monitor your blood sugar level more closely. What if you weren't as lucky and I didn't find a need to drop by." Chloe though quite changed is still very much the same. Old habits do die hard because as she wheels out of the office, she has surreptiously glanced at the trash can and swiped the empty syringe without Dr. Hawkins noticing.

-----

The next day, Chloe was once again staying at the patients' lounge where she has taken to retreating when she was suffering from microfiche migraine. Just too many things were starting to dawn on her. Lois was now working at the Daily Planet. Obviously she was living out what supposedly was Chloe's life and had even improved on it by being slated to receive a Pulitzer for her editorial, "Why the World Does Not Need Superman" at the young age of 30.

Chloe could not deny it anymore. There was something there in her articles about the caped hero – something that she couldn't quite place. She seemed to be in love with him which was impossible if her attitude when they were young towards Clark was anything to go by. It is just possible though that she does not know who he is and Lois had always had the tendency to be myopic and not see past beyond the obvious. For that she had always relied on Chloe.

Chloe was undoubtedly starting to get quite angry towards Lois, Clark, Pete, Lana, Lex and practically everybody else in her life who seemed to have gotten on without a thought for her. But mostly she was angry at life and at whoever is behind the fact that cheated her of all of those years. She was hurt by Lois most of all and she wondered how long did it take for her cousin to start easing into the life that she was supposed to have. As she sees Lois' by-line everyday, she wonders why she has not come. Surely, Clark would've told her that she was alive. Is it possible that she did not know? She wanted to call her and talk to her but she was scared that after all these years, she may not have space enough for her in her life. Indeed, that was true with Clark. However sad it seems but she cannot deny it any longer. She has dropped in on her friend's life when the truth of the matter is that her dropping back in was now nothing more but an intrusion. And as all these thoughts rise up inside of her like a tempest, she cannot help but think whether she's finally succumbed to insanity. Maybe she was someone else and only pretended to be this Chloe Sullivan and she after all was just some drone or unnamed Jane Doe. Because apart from the fact that her records show that she was one Chloe Elizabeth Sullivan, she has no more ties in the outside world to verify her existence. And it was exactly these thoughts that were keeping her company when her attention was claimed by a piece of news that she thought she would never hear in her entire life.

"_We break from our regular programming to bring late-breaking news. We have it on good authority that Superman is in critical condition once again. He has been admitted into Metropolis General Hospital and the doctors attending him are grim about his prognosis. The next 24 hours are critical. It may just be the end of Superman after battling almost fatal injuries a couple of months ago. The public may recall that the Man of Steel was also in grave danger after he saved the entire west coast when he fell from the sky into Central Park. Prior to that, Superman was missing for 5 years and has gone on active duty once again tirelessly keeping the streets of Metropolis and the world safe. We turn you over to Rose Dawson, who is now on the ground with a mass of people waiting outside the Metropolis General Hospital for some news. Rose, what's the atmosphere like over there?"_

It was at this point that Chloe hated the press. How it seemed to find some secret excitement towards the tragedy of others. As the news program replayed scenes from the last time Clark was admitted into the hospital, she was struck by Lois carrying a child of about 5 years old into the hospital and emerging later, looking distraught. As the camera pans towards the crowd, she noticed that Lana Lang was there but Lois just brushed past her. Odd and strangely surreal. How could Lois not notice her in the crowd? How could she not know why Lana Lang-Ross would be there crying her eyes out and she was shocked at the only possible logical conclusion. Clark did not tell her who he was and that young boy with Lois. There was something oddly familiar about him.

Chloe looks around at the patients lounge in incredulity. Don't they know that he is invincible? Surely there must be some kind of mistake but the lounge was wrapped in a suffocating silence and all of the nurses and orderlies were transfixed on the screen with shock. Some had tears streaming down their faces and she needed to get away from these people who are already mourning for some man they barely know. She needed to see him at once. She needed some answers and some comfort but she can't let herself cry for him. Not just yet. He will come out of this alive. He just has to. Clark was her only connection. Without him, she was just some drifter with no past and a faceless future. As she careened in the empty hallway, she nearly ran over Dr. Hawkins.

"Whoa! Whoa! Young lady, I may have to book you for speeding and take away your license."

More distraught than she has allowed or acknowledged herself to be, she stammers out a response, "Dr. Hawkins, I….I need to go to Metropolis General Hospital right now."

"What? Why?"

"Please you don't understand. You have to bring me there. A friend of mine is sick. They say he might not make it."

"But all roads are closed to Metropolis General Hospital right now because Superman is admitted there. May be I can pull some strings and make some calls. You know find out how your friend is doing. Do you know what room he is in? Is it Mr. Kent?"

Chloe shakes her head. What was she supposed to say? That she knew Superman? Who would ever believer her and Dr. Hawkins is smart. He may try to put two and two together. Considering that Clark Kent was the only visitor she ever had. "No that's okay. I…I was wondering if I could borrow a laptop with an internet connection."

"Whatever for? You have to start focusing on being able to walk again and not concern yourself with old news stories."

"I wanted to read up on my friend's sickness."

"Well why don't you ask me. You may not think of it much but I am a doctor except for when I let my blood sugar dip so low." Dr. Hawkins' smile was indulgent and Chloe was tempted to stop pursuing but she needed to keep up on what's happening with Clark and at the same time find out a way to reconnect with her cousin. Chloe's brows were furrowed into that expression she gets when she's trying to put together an argument. Dr. Hawkins thoughtfully studies her and often wondered what she was thinking all those days. Not wanting to shoot her down and risk have her retreating back behind the impenetrable wall of her own thoughts, he acquiesced quite readily after a beat, "Ms. Sullivan, you are a young lady quite difficult to say 'no' to. Okay. I'll see what I can do for you." Shaking his head, he makes his way to his office but not before glancing at the first smile Chloe Sullivan has given in 4 months.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Summary: Chloe is returned ten years after she was abducted during Dark Thursday. Probably Chlark / Chruce. Set Post-Freak. Connecting events as told in the movie Superman Returns.

Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville, Superman or Batman

Dr. Hawkins was walking briskly and stopped in front of Chloe's door. Being a gentleman of the old world, Dr. Hawkins stood on such formalities as opening doors for women, standing up when a woman enters the room and such. So it was quite unheard of that Dr. Hawkins would turn the handle when she called out, "It's unlocked." He knocked again and he hears a muffled and exasperated curse when the inhabitant of the room accidentally stubbed her toe. The door jerks open to a dishevelled Chloe Sullivan.

"Why Ms. Sullivan, Nurse Fairchild says that you've been locked up in your room for quite some time."

Chloe moves away from the door and sits back down in front of the microfiche machine. Like a father reprimanding an errant daughter, for after all these time, Chloe Sullivan was like the child that Dr. Hawkins never had, he was tapping his foot impatiently with his arms folded across his chest, he starts on his speech, "Ms. Sullivan, I've been quite generous with your requests but I cannot abide this wilful violation of your therapy program. I have half a mind not to give to you a parcel which came for you."

Curiosity getting the better of her, Chloe peels her eyes away from the microfiche machine. "What is it?"

"As it turns out, the computer that you asked for came. But if you are going to be an obstinate and rebellious teenager, I won't give it to you."

Chloe flashes him one of his smiles. Dr. Hawkins reminded her of her father and as fathers go, she is able to wheedle him to do anything, "Oh come on Doc. The parcel came for me. I see thanks are in order again. It makes me curious to see the seriously generous and equally mysterious Bruce Wayne."

"Well, you do not owe him anything. I bought you the laptop but I'm not going to give it to you until you promise to come out of your cave, interact with normal human beings," he takes an offended sniff at her messy surroundings, "probably take a bath before you interact with normal human beings and to limit browsing time to no later than ten pm."

Dr. Hawkins turned about and marched away but upon reaching the door, Chloe calls out to him, "Aye aye Captain! Thanks Dr. Hawkins. For everything. You're a swell guy. My dad was a swell guy. If he were alive you two would get along quite well." Dr. Hawkins looks back and his face softens. Not knowing what to say, he tells Chloe, "Well, right. I'll have it brought up to you after the IT guys have installed some software that might be of interest to you."

----

Chloe found everything doubly difficult nowadays – walking, remembering, and having a routine. Especially this business about catching up with life. Thanks to the laptop and wi-fi connection, she was able to piece together some things from her research but mostly about the people she has left behind and get updates on how Clark is doing and being relieved to find out he has survived this most recent battle once more. As for finding herself, she could come up with nothing more but a small obituary in the Inquisitor about her "death" in the August 14 edition scarcely 8 years ago. She has a crazy theory and as crazy theory goes, she needed to talk to Clark about it, if he ever actually remembered her within this lifetime. Her crazy theories have a way of actually being right but now more than ever she hopes that this is one of the few times that she is wrong. Based on the timeline and other circumstantial evidence, her research have led her to surmise that Lois' son is Superman's and as Superman is Clark then Lois and Clark had a son which meant that they had…unable to complete that thought. She cannot imagine that Clark would just have a casual affair with her cousin. With Clark, or at least the Clark she knew, nothing was casual. She tried living with that thought about Clark and her cousin and was almost successful in pretending that she was okay with it. She cannot help but feel betrayed by both of them. Not knowing who hurt her more. Lois for having a son with the man she is in love with or Clark for not telling her when they talked. There has to be a logical explanation for this and as nothing has been verified yet, this state of uncertainty was even worse. She did not know whether she had a right to feel that way. After all they did not know whether she was alive and if they did, love was a decision between two people. Obviously she was not part of that equation. It was times like these that she was glad that Clark had made himself scarce but the inimitable Mr. Kent always had a talent for being present when all she had ever wanted was for him to stay far away as possible.

She was wrestling with all these thoughts when Clark's voice broke her out of her reverie, "Hey. A penny for your thoughts?"

The hair on the back of Chloe's neck stands up and she gets goose bumps at the deep treble of his voice. She tries to hide behind the humour of the situation as she had always done but her attempt failed miserably as it came out, "Hey. I can see you've been busy. Saving people. Almost dying. I'm glad you could squeeze me in your busy schedule Mr. Kent."

He knows that she's upset. After all those years, he is quite familiar with that particular tone of her voice. "Chloe, I'm sorry. I should've come sooner."

"Are you ready to spring me out of this nuthouse Clark?"

A warning in his tone, he turns her wheel chair around and settles on his heels to be eye level with her, "Chloe, I can't. You know that."

"No I don't. Why don't you explain it to me and save me those father-daughter speeches like 'I'm doing this for your own good' crap. I'm done with that."

"I wish I had a better excuse Chlo. But my life is pretty crazy right now. I don't want to drag you into it. I've just found you. I can't lose you again."

"Clark, I'm not some doll you can just keep in a box."

"I'm trying to keep you safe."

"Well in case you haven't noticed, Clark. Newsflash, every single morning that mere mortals like us wake up, there is a 50-50 chance that we won't make it to the end of the day. I'm not saying that we become roomies Clark. All I'm asking you is to help me get out of here and reclaim my life."

Clark lets out a breath in frustration. He has forgotten how stubborn Chloe could be. He stands up in haste and starts pacing around. Chloe eyes him and she tilts her head to the side in observation. "There's another reason why you can't help me out of this place, is there? Clark we are friends right? I mean after all these years, you'd still be honest enough with me, right?"

"What do you mean Chlo? Of course. You're my best friend."

"Yes but the ironic thing is that despite all your reassurances, you are slipping away. We've become strangers Clark and all I know of you is what I see on television or on the Daily Planet. Do you care to hear this crazy theory I have?"

Clark eyes her quizzically at this and Chloe takes his silence as an agreement to continue, "You are in love. What's complicated is that this girl does not know who you are. You haven't told her because in as much as you were scared of letting others know in high school that you're zip code cannot be found on this planet, you are scared that she would know about your Superman's alter ego – the normal guy who is not as invulnerable as the Man of Steel. You're not exactly sure that she would be as accepting but what's complicated is that you have to hide this other part of you, especially since 5 years ago you just left her. To have your child all by herself while she becomes one of the top reporters at the Daily Planet. Riddle me this then Clark, what is it with you and girls with the initials LL?"

Clark's eyes have darkened in confusion. Obviously she knows and she sounds broken as his face was enough of a confirmation of everything she was scared to admit to be true, "Why Clark? Lois and you? So when were you going to tell me? On your golden wedding anniversary? Do you think that keeping me locked up in this place will keep your secret safe? How could you Clark? Does Lois know about me being here?"

Tears have started to brim and threatened to escape her eyes but Chloe was determined not to cry. Clark did not know where to begin but he knew that he should come clean, "Chloe, it's complicated. I didn't set out to fall in love with Lois. It just happened. I wanted to tell you that first day but I didn't know how to tell you. You were just trying to recuperate from being missing. That is difficult enough as it is, I didn't want to add anymore than that."

Chloe's eyes flashed in angry indignation, "You didn't know how to tell me?!? That was your reason? All you had to do was tell me Clark. Do me a favour next time and don't feel the need to protect me because in case you have forgotten, I've lived through more than a decade knowing that I love you and you don't love me back so I guess if you didn't want to hurt me it is a little bit too late for that." The air crackling around her as she tries to hold back everything into some form of acceptable reaction that she thought will make her seem less vulnerable then she already is. "You didn't have to tie up your story in one neat package. Do you think that if you have waited that there ever would be a time or a way you could break this news to me without making me feel like I've been gutted through? Haven't you learned by this time that the best way to deliver difficult news is just to deliver it? It's not as if I expected that you would have put your life on hold to look for me. After all these years, I have to admit that I did harbour some fantastic dream that you would have waited for me but you're a guy Clark and that's what guys do. Whether they are Kryptonians or homo sapiens sapiens. If you have nothing more to tell me Clark, I want you to leave. I do believe that this conversation is over." Dismissing him, she wheels her chair away and she continues to stare outside the window.

Equally riled up by her words which apparently only Chloe could do, Clark closes the distance between them, wheels her around again and lashed out, "Fine you want to hear everything? So be it. You know why she hasn't come to see you? It's not because she doesn't know you're here. I told her already and she refuses to come. Because she says she can't handle seeing you just yet and that she's scared that if she did you'd be as insane as your mother and she'd rather remember you as you were than see you now. Her words. Is that raw truth enough for you?" He grips the arm rest of her wheelchair to keep her moving away, his face just inches away, meeting her defiant gaze which were starting to brim with tears that she was doing her best not to shed, "Ready for more? Do you want to know why I refuse to help you get out? It's because frankly I can't take care of you Chloe. I have this other life now and I don't want to have to relive the guilt all over again when I find out that something has happened to you. I have no time. I'm often out and I barely have time for anyone else – let alone be with my son who I just recently discovered and who by the way I cannot be with because your cousin may love Superman but hates Clark Kent because in some twisted way, I think deep down inside she blames me for what has happened to you. Frankly, I don't need the complication and I'm trying to get my life back too. I have to save people with no benefit of anyone saving me from my overly wrought out life. You were gone. Everyone thought you were dead and now you're not. So excuse me if not everyone can wrap their minds around that. It is not every day after all that someone they know rises from the dead and thus, will be able drop whatever it is they need to be doing right now to take you back in because in case you haven't noticed the world did not stop turning when you did not show up."

With that he straightened up. The haze of his anger has lifted miraculously like the fog as his pent-up frustration was voiced. It reminded him of the time when he told her to back off from researching him and told her to look for her own mother but now he knows that he has gone too far. Determined not to make the same mistake and realizing that his words were inordinately cruel, he reaches out for one of her thin arms which he noticed was lined with white scars of cuts that have healed and he wondered whether those were recent ones. "Chloe, look…I'm"

Chloe reeling from the sting of his words and burned by the pity that she felt through his touch, dejectedly finished his sentence for him, "Sorry? I don't know you. I can't say I understand you or where you are right now. Nor can I say that you have not hurt me more than you have ever done Clark. I think it's safe to say that may be we should stop being friends." With that she pulls her arm from his grasp and wheels herself out of the room before she could cry.


	5. Chapter 5

WRITTEN OUT

Chapter Five

Summary: Chloe is returned ten years after she was abducted during Dark Thursday. Probably Chlark / Chruce. Set Post-Freak. Connecting events as told in the movie Superman Returns.

Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville, Superman or Batman

Over the next couple of months, Dr. Hawkins was amazed at the extraordinary effort Chloe made to apply herself to all her programmed therapy. She has started to regain normal motor skills and can now walk without aid but was still too thin and weak for any more strenuous activities. Walking up two flights of stairs was enough to make her light-headed with the effort. Noticeably enough, Chloe has spent all her time trying to regain every skill that would help her to become self-sufficient but apart from her daily conversations with Dr. Hawkins was known to only keep to herself. Dr. Hawkins knew about the visit of Clark Kent had something to do with his ward's renewed somewhat overzealous efforts but somehow he also knew that whatever conversation they may have shared did not ingratiate the young man further. To his credit however, Clark came by every week to ask for Chloe and bring her anything. Flowers. Chocolates. Books that he thought she might want to read. Food that she may have wanted. A fresh brew of cappuccino from the nearby coffeeshop. But she has never faced her visitor again. Instead, she has asked Nurse Fairchild to return to Clark every single one of his gifts. Undeterred, he persisted but Chloe refused. Once, she was crossing the lobby to get to the pool area just as Clark was at the reception with a small stuffed cow asking for her. He caught her from the corner of his eye and Chloe tried walking as fast as she could with a cane in her right hand and a brawny male orderly supporting her left, hoping to go unnoticed.

Clark jogged to catch up with Chloe, "Hey. You've been avoiding me."

Chloe stopped to look at him as if she was looking at a stranger, with no expression.

Not knowing what to say, Clark pushes the stuffed cow to her, "Here. I got you something."

Chloe made a move to her left, away from Clark and averted her face but not without saying, "We're not allowed to keep stuffed animals in a loony bin. Might be where we could hide things that could hurt other people. Thank you."

Clark quickly made a move to block her from getting away, "Chloe please."

The orderly watching this exchange decides to step in, "Chloe, you may keep the stuffed animal. It might even brighten up your room a bit if you do."

"No. I can't accept it. Let's go, I'll be late for my session with Nurse Watts." With that she shuffled off with Clark looking at her wistfully, the stuffed cow held loosely in his hand.

After the session with Nurse Watts, Dr. Hawkins was right outside the swimming pool area waiting for Chloe to be finished. As she was making her way slowly out, he held out his arm and gallantly bowed down, "Ms. Sullivan, mind if I walk you to your next destination?"

"Don't you have better things to do?"

"No I'm taking a break from the other loonies in this fine institution."

"New patients?"

"If only it were so. Meeting with the Board and Mr. Wayne in the next 15 minutes." With this, Dr. Hawkins was glad to note that he was able to elicit a chuckle from Chloe. "So, I heard you have a visitor. Nurse Owens told me that you have hastily rebuffed Mr. Kent's gift. I do believe that the stuffed animal rule does not apply to you Ms. Sullivan unless you have so skilfully hidden a dangerous psychosis that we do not know about."

Chloe stiffened at this, "Dr. Hawkins, I think this is beyond your sphere of influence. I am allowed to choose to accept or not to accept gifts from visitors, am I not?" The question more of a rhetoric than an open-ended one.

"Yes. I do believe that's true. Look I would like to overstep my bounds here and say that whatever tiff you have gotten with Mr. Kent, he really does seem to be quite sorry about it. Like my grand mum used to say to me, 'Rupert, do not let the sun go down on your anger.' I leave the same words with you Ms. Sullivan and as I have to prepare for the arrival of the Board, I leave you to it to reflect upon those words." With that Dr. Hawkins leaves Chloe in front of her door and deposits a stuffed cow in her hands before whistling back to his office.

------

That night, Chloe Sullivan could not sleep. She was busy rereading and writing a letter when a gush of wind from an open window blew all her paper into a mini tornado, swirling madly about her room before settling down into circles around her. Letting out an exasperated sigh, she bends down to pick up her work. Straightening up, she was face to face with Clark in his Superman outfit, "I knew you'd be here. Can't you at the very least knock or pretend to the illusion of preserving other people's privacy?"

"I came to apologize." His voice somehow sounding lower and sadder when he is Superman than Clark.

"And you came dressed for it? Or was it some other special occasion?"

"You wouldn't see me as myself, Chlo. I don't know why I came here as this."

"Look, let's not have this drawn out conversation because whenever we do, we invariably get into an argument where I hurt you or you hurt me. I'm just tired and whoever it is that is standing it front of me, I guess will do. I wrote you a letter." Chloe shuffles her papers to find the one that she has been working on. Finding it, she was in the act of giving it to him when she stops herself midway, "Stop. Wait. I think I have to do this and read it out loud. I'm done trying to gingerly step around emotional landmines and I'm going to look you in the face. Please hold off on your questions or angry tirades later when I'm done." She clears her throat and settles herself on one of the chairs in her room while Clark pulls up another chair opposite her.

"_Dear Clark, _

_I think I will begin by saying that I loved all of you. The part of you that you show the world and the part of you that you tuck away behind your ridiculous glasses. Unfortunately for me, I still do. I wish I could stop because it's futile like slashing your wrists with the blunted edge of an argument but I had the silly notion that if I could keep you safe, that if I stuck around long enough, you'd start to grow into me. In the meantime, while I bided my time, I vowed not to be a burden to you – not even when I was so scared finding out that I'm one of those meteor freaks. What I never realized is that there could never have been any chance for us because it will always be breath-taking brunettes with hazel eyes, who want saving, that could complete you. The hero-saviour and his bride-in-distress. The gaping loophole in my plan was that I've cast myself in the role of a capable sidekick and you didn't need one. Never have and you were just being kind by pretending that you did all those years. I understand that now and I think it's time we go our separate ways. I know with all your super powers and your innate need to save everybody will push you to seek me again but you and I both know that I need to be away from you to heal myself. So it would be great if you would let me try to lick my wounds in dignity. During the best of times, you have always been my best friend and it is these memories which I know hold that allows me to say that I still see you as that. Take care and don't lose yourself out there. But in the meantime, I would like to ask you to say goodbye Clark, for now."_

Finishing, the silence was thick and heavy in the room. Clark all throughout Chloe's reading was leaning forward, straining to hear her and looking at the floor as if he could coax the answers to straighten things out just by staring into it. Thinking that there was nothing more to be said, Chloe folds the paper in half and stands up to throw it in the trash can. Clark then raises his head and puts out his arm to stop her, "As it is my letter, I'd like to keep it. If I may?"

She wordlessly hands it to him and then settles back down the chair she occupied previously. Clark staring unseeing into the piece of paper that she has given him. He starts in a broken voice, more plaintive because of the fact that he was garbed as a superhero who cannot and does not have the ability to bleed, "I'm sorry. I wish I could go back and erase that. I wasn't proud of myself. Please don't leave me Chloe."

"You do know that I could never leave you Clark and that is why I'm asking you to walk away from me, stay away."

He walks away from her and faces toward the open window, "What can I say? What choice do I have? It is my fault after all. Remember that movie 'The Princess Bride'? I leave you and my absence is my reply as you wish it. But I hold onto the promise of your letter. I'm saying goodbye for now and I do hope that you will find it in your heart to forgive me someday." Just like that another gust of wind picks up everything in the room and he was gone. Not knowing that in the shadows of her room outside, another was witness to this exchange. If Clark wasn't so consumed by the entire thing, he would have noticed a large shadow in the opposite wall in the shape of a man hiding behind the mask of a bat.

-------

It was strange, as if by some miraculous sort of turn about, Bruce Wayne has asked for another conference with Dr. Hawkins after the dismally boring Board meeting the previous day. Not knowing what it would be about and assuming that it was to get more information on his research, Dr. Hawkins set about to gather things into a neat presentation that any lay man could understand and appreciate. Well just about any lay man with interests in neurological dysfunction will find mildly digestible.

For once, he cursed himself for not being more conscientious in his note taking so that he won't be in a rush to get things done. He was absolutely sure that he would forget something or do it so poorly that the funding will be pulled out, which would leave Chloe and the rest like her on traditional but unnecessarily harsh traditional treatment. At his wit's end, he calls in Nurse Jenkins into his office for some help in looking for some file which he couldn't find at the moment. With his back turned towards the door, he starts to rail at the injustice of a certain billionaire's whims while rooting into his files, "Bugger that! I cannot seem to find that accursed file! I don't know what Bruce Wayne is about asking for a meeting on my research now when he hasn't been to see me when I've prepared something of his interest. Nurse Jenkins, can you find my latest patient chart for Ms. Sullivan? Someone must have borrowed it and did not have a heart to put it back when they were done."

Slamming the filing door shut and swivelling around, his face turns pale when he is confronted by the very person he was complaining about. Unable to say anything at first but managing to stammer, "Mister…Mr. Wayne. So sorry about that I didn't know you have arrived. A tad too early for our appointment. It's just that I have invited you to several other forums and now that…"

Bruce Wayne was quite a charming man but could be quite imposing when he wanted to be. This time around, he was the latter and Dr. Hawkins was in his mind already starting to think of ways to get himself back into the good graces of the largest and only contributor to his research fund, even if it meant having to grovel and plead. Bemused by the discomfort of Dr. Hawkins, Bruce Wayne extricates himself from his languid sitting position and reached out to deposit a case file at the good doctor's desk, "I believe you were looking for this."

"How? When? Patient-doctor confidentiality does not permit me to …"

"She is my ward, Dr. Hawkins and as such I have the right to review her case file. How is Ms Sullivan?"

"Well she is doing quite well. She has regained some of her motor skills and has fewer episodes of catatonia. Her MRI scan shows normal reading in the temporal lobe though her memory is still limited to recent events."

"I have understood as much from your case file. So how is she?"

Perplexed, Dr. Hawkins was unable to respond and so Bruce drew himself forward and asked, "How is Ms. Sullivan, Dr. Hawkins? For instance, any interpersonal social interactions?" Not receiving any response, Bruce then continues, "Right. So she has mainly kept to herself. Any other intriguing visitors aside from a reporter at the Daily Planet – a certain Mr. Clark Kent?"

Dr. Hawkins recovering from a question that he was totally unprepared for seemed to have shaken himself out of his stupor, "If by inter-personal social interactions, Ms. Sullivan has been in contact with her nurses and myself. She is no threat to anybody else. She can converse, argue and behave within reason but I don't know how this is of interest to you Mr. Wayne. As you know, though she is your ward, I still maintain the prerogative to disclose and keep information that I think will best suit the privacy requirements of my patients."

"I would like to talk to her."

"Why?" The older man not wanting to back down from the young billionaire who seemed to always get what he wanted.

"Because I want to ascertain that she is being treated in an ethical manner. I have to close the research being made by Dr. Taylor because of some questionable medical practices on another patient and clearly Wayne Technologies cannot be affiliated with such unethical and inhumane treatment of test cases. Just standard check and balance, I assure you Dr. Hawkins."

"I'm sorry I cannot abide by your request until an authorized medical representative is present in the room while you interrogate her."

"Then it defeats the purpose wouldn't it? But I would acquiesce for now."

Dr. Hawkins knowing when to back down and when to fight has decided that he should drop the battle in the meantime. Curiosity has gotten the better of him and after staring down Bruce Wayne as if to say that he will not tolerate patients being badgered and bullied, so that he must mind his manners, he led him to Chloe who was at that moment in the recreational room.

--------

At that very moment, Chloe Sullivan was staring at the wall listening to an aria that Dr. Hawkins has recommended to her when Dr. Hawkins and his guest rapped on the door to get her attention. Her head turns to greet him with a smile "Hey Doc, what's with opera that only fat ladies can sing them?" But then her face hardens when she sees a stranger with him.

As the two gentlemen step into the room, Dr. Hawkins says in a clear even tone, "Hello Chloe, I'd like you to meet Mr. Wayne who is most interested to have an interview with you."

Chloe turns her attention to Bruce Wayne but refused to get up to shake his hand or greet him. She just simply, raised her eyebrow and continued to stare at the opposite wall with a stony expression on her face.

Bruce Wayne approaches her with the same mix of faux ease and alertness that he would have in approaching a predatory animal in repose and who could at any moment strike him, "Hi Chloe, I don't think we've met." He settles himself slowly into the armchair beside her.

Chloe eyes him and with an unmistakeable sense of disdain addressed him, "I'm not Hannibal Lecter, Mr. Wayne. I won't be plunging a spoon into your jugular when caught by surprise. You may move as you normally do and please."

Dr. Hawkins suppresses a chortle at this and hides this with a cough. It seems that Chloe Sullivan had enough gumption to put this man in his place. Bruce Wayne lets out a small laugh at his own expense and seeking to regain his position, stretched out his arm for a handshake, "I'm so sorry for offending you Chloe. Let's start over again. Hi, I'm Bruce."

Chloe reluctantly takes his hand to shake it, "I'm at a disadvantage. You already knew my name."

"I came to ask you how you are? How are your treatments coming along?" He leans forward as he asks her this.

Narrowing her eyes, she answers him. Suspicion plainly evident in her eyes, "What is it to you Bruce?"

"I'm a contributor to Dr. Hawkins' research grant and would like to find out a couple of things."

"I'm not being mistreated if that's what you care to know." Silence then ensues. The strains of the aria "O Mio Babbino Caro" filling it.

Intrigued by her interest in the music, he decides to pursue this theme, "So you seem to be interested in opera. Have you seen the opera 'Carmen'?"

"No." Chloe rolls her eyes like she was bored with the conversation and looked to Dr. Hawkins as if asking him to leave and to take his guest with him.

Undeterred, Bruce ignores the non-verbal message from Chloe and continues on, "Oh. My parents were keen supporters of the art. Have you gone to see any opera or plays? Do you know what the words mean? She's singing about her lover, who her father is set against." Bruce continues to translate the words, the English version interspersed with the crescendo of the diva's Italian libretto. His deep voice hypnotizing and soothing against the mounting desolation of the aria,

""_O mio babbino caro,  
mi piace è bello, bello;  
vo'andare in Porta Rossa  
a comperar l'anello!  
_

Oh dear father  
I love him, he is handsome  
I want to go to Porta Rossa  
to buy the ring 

_Sì, sì, ci voglio andare!  
e se l'amassi indarno,  
andrei sul Ponte Vecchio,  
ma per buttarmi in Arno!  
_

Yes, yes, I want to go there  
And if my love were in vain  
I would go to Ponte Vecchio  
and throw myself in the Arno 

_Mi struggo e mi tormento!  
O Dio, vorrei morir!_

I fret and suffer torments  
Oh God, I would rather die

_Babbo, pietà, pietà!  
Babbo, pietà, pietà!"_

Now she is pleading with her father to have pity on her."

Chloe cuts him off impatiently, "Mr. Wayne, you don't need to tell me what she's saying. I'm pretty much fluent in what is being said. Despair. Loneliness. Sadness. It's universal and not foreign to me, I'd be able recognize it in any language. Now if you please, I'm tired and I think you've gotten what you wanted from me. I'd appreciate it very much if you were to leave."

Not offended by the directness of Chloe, Bruce Wayne's interest was piqued all the more and was drawn to find out more about Chloe Sullivan even if it meant spending more time with her in silence. But for now, he was content to indulge her and stood up to leave with Dr. Hawkins. At the door, he pauses, "Okay Chloe. Thank you for spending time with me. I'd like to spend more time with you if you would allow it?"

She sighs in defeat and waves her hand. It was not a matter of her allowing it. Something has already told her that Bruce Wayne was the kind of person who will not be put off or be prevailed upon to stay away with rudeness or any other means.

-----------

**Excerpt from the following chapters….**

Clark Kent confronts Bruce Wayne….

"_She is nothing more but a child Bruce!"_

"_To you she may be but she is not a child anymore Clark. Let her make her choice."_

_Clark's voice resonated with disbelief, "What?! You have got to be kidding? And what is that choice? You? You will just hurt her and I cannot allow that to happen. There's been too much pain in her life and I'm going to save her even if that's the last thing I do."_

_Impatient with all of Clark's arguments, Bruce counters passionately, "And who will save her from you? Like you did not ignore her and use her as a crutch all through those years. What choice are you offering her, Clark? Do the right thing for once and let her go."_

"_I cannot." Clark's voice vehement and challenging._


	6. Chapter 6

WRITTEN OUT

Chapter Six

Summary: Chloe is returned ten years after she was abducted during Dark Thursday. Probably Chlark / Chruce. Set Post-Freak. Connecting events as told in the movie Superman Returns.

Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville, Superman or Batman

Beads of sweat slowly trickled down Chloe's forehead as she slowly makes her way across the vast expanse of the Belle Reve's well-manicured lawn away from the main building. In the distance, the sounds of bustling orderlies and patients' various howls creating a muffled but distinguishable din makes the day seem extraordinarily more humid than what it already is. As she squints off to focus on a white-coated figure waving at her, she shields her eyes with one hand and waits impatiently for whoever it is to approach. Though, she knew from the long crisp strides that it was none other than Dr. Hawkins. Looking quite disheveled, Dr. Hawkins was uncharacteristically casual, arrived at her spot with button-white shirt untucked and coat sleeves rolled up. Mopping his brow and raking his hands through his hair, making them stick out at odd ends and angles, Chloe laughed at him and handed him a chilled water bottle.

"Here I think you could use this more than I do."

Taking a swig of the proffered water, Dr. Hawkins shakes his head, "Why Ms. Sullivan, as I live and breathe, you still look fresh as a daisy which is the least of what I could say of Nurse Jenkins. She looks even more like a bedraggled rat dragged off the sewer than usual."

"That was an atypically ungracious comment. Didn't your grand mum give you anymore platitudes about that as advice? Something more along the lines of, 'Why Rupert, if you don't have anything good to say, then don't say anything at all.'"

Smiling tightly at Chloe, Dr. Hawkins harrumphed at this, "Well just between you and me, grand mum probably have not met Nurse Jenkins at her worst. She reminds me of that despicable character Kathy Bates played in that movie 'Misery'."

Perplexed, Chloe clarifies, "Who? Nurse Jenkins or your grand mum?"

"Hmmm…come to think of it both but I was referring more to Nurse Jenkins as she stalks after me, haranguing me to my wits end as if the air-conditioning system breaking down all through out the facility is my bloody responsibility. I'm a doctor, not a blooming plumber! Who by the way I tried to call 4 hours ago with our little dilemma but saw it fit to laugh his head off. At me! It's this blasted country and the total lack of need to uphold customer satisfaction while having the impunity to laugh at the face of it."

Struggling to stifle her laughter at the doctor's apparent lack of knowledge in anything domestic and spirited raving, Chloe tries to humor the doctor, "Well it is quite shocking that Nurse Jenkins would be misled by such an assumption considering that what the air-conditioning system needs is not a doctor but maintenance and engineering. Lucky for us though that the plumber did not come or Nurse Jenkins would be after you if she receives a cold blast of air when she opens the tap instead of water"

Just at that moment a shrill piercing scream shatters the air and Chloe's head whips in the direction from which it ensued, "What was that?"

"Relax Nancy Drew. It is just Anita our newest psych patient." Dr. Hawkins shrugs and his shoulders slump even further in defeat, "Just what I need. The woman is a regular Mary Queen of Scots. Everyone is feeling antsy and unsettled because of the heat. The orderlies are cross and the patients are mad. Anita has broken out of her room and has been turning the building upside down." Rubbing his temples as he says, "Makes me wonder why I did not just specialize in dermatology or cosmetic surgery. At least with those practices, only one patient screams at a time. Stay here! Don't go back into the main building because if you're not crazy now, you will be. It's just bedlam. Bedlam!" With that Dr. Hawkins hurries off as another shrill cry punctuates the air,

Chloe calls out after him, "Hey Doc, go easy on Nurse Jenkins. She has nothing but love for you." Smirking as her eyes follow him up onto the old building and teasing him with the latest water cooler fodder going around the rumor mills.

Dr. Hawkins continues to stride purposefully onto the main hall but waved off Chloe's insinuation. That rumor was not new to him.

Chuckling to herself, Chloe picks out a shady spot under one of the trees and settled there with a book. The air was languid and lazy and the hours seemed to move like molasses. Every few minutes or so were punctuated by cries or the sound of breaking glass from the main hall. Concerned about what may be going on and thinking of helping Dr. Hawkins, Chloe had half a mind to get up and volunteer her services. Anita, the new psych patient, was not always so bad. Often times she would be found putting together the same puzzle and dismantling it when she has completed them for hours on end.

It was just the darned heat! It wasn't just once when she thought of screaming out loud because of how amazingly uncomfortable it is. She wondered whether the earth was on fire and looked up any news on the internet in case there really was something wrong. Apparently, nothing was except for the fact that the weather man was projecting record highs today – on all days when the air-conditioning decided to go bust. Blinking her tired eyes, she puts the book down on her stomach and tries not to think about Clark. True to his promise, he hasn't been around to visit her and she almost wished that he chose to be obstinate and came around to see her. It's not as if she doesn't get to see him. He was on the news every single day. So was Lex and it was strange to see them like that. It was hard imagining that there was a time when each tried to think the best of one another, only for it to falter and peter out into this cold hatred. At least on Lex's part. She wasn't so sure about Clark and she worries about him because it is true what he said to her. He had no one to share all this with. She used to play that role so much so that she has become nothing more but the sub-plot even in her own life and she needed desperately to right that.

It was with these thoughts and the sticky summer heat that caused her to doze off. She feels a refreshing breeze blow and gently pick wisps of her hair away from her face. Disoriented she wipes her eyes and calls out softly, "Clark?" Lifting her head slowly she was met with the sight of Bruce Wayne, his arms crossed and leaning onto a nearby tree trunk. His eyes searching and concerned but was soon replaced with the hooded gaze that he was often associated with. Visibly angry, Chloe sits up quite abruptly, "YOU! How long have you been standing there?"

Bruce had the grace to look chastised, "I'm sorry I was at the main hall looking for you but I was met by Dr. Hawkins looking quite harried. He shooed me away and told me that you were out here getting some air."

There were times when Chloe hated Dr. Hawkins for being so trusting of this man before her. She was, if not more than usual, forceful in saying that she has no wish to be subjected to this man's presence any further and could not understand why Dr. Hawkins would feel a need to point to him her whereabouts.

"I could have you barred from coming here, you know. So Bruce Wayne and voyeurism. Interesting. Does it float your boat watching younger girls sleep when they are unaware?" Her eyes narrowed into little slits.

Bristling at the insinuation, Bruce's lips set into a thin line and tries to say with as much indifference as he could muster, "You were so deeply in repose that I did not have the heart to wake you. I was thinking of leaving."

"So then why are you still here?"

"Well, you looked like you were asleep in an uncomfortable position and I was going to wake you. Although, I'd have to file that fact away as the information may be of use in the future because obviously not waking you was a good choice considering how extraordinarily congenial you are than usual. I shudder to think how much of a Ms. Cranky-pants you would be if I interrupted your sleep. As a matter of fact, I think I may have interrupted you just right now in the middle of a dream. Where were you? Oh yes. You said 'Clark' and so do carry on Ms. Sullivan. You were saying?" Brows raised as he mock-challenges her but an unsettling feeling came over him as he said this, eager to know how Chloe would react.

"Why do you persist on coming here, Mr. Wayne?" Each word emphasized through gritted teeth.

"I thought we were past the formalities. Call me Bruce and like I already told you. I'm checking up on Dr. Hawkins."

"If you're checking up on him, then why do you spend more time tracking me down?"

"Honestly, Ms. Sullivan. Chloe? May I call you that?" Not receiving a response, Bruce saw it fit to continue, "It's because I find you quite interesting and different from most women I know."

"By that I take it you mean that I'm not the usual person in your harem between the ages of 15 and 80 who throw themselves at you for the attention that you give. Your reputation precedes you. I have been duly warned by Dr. Hawkins and by no less than 5 nurses here. Don't flatter yourself Bruce," putting emphasis on his name, "I'm not deliberately trying to be a challenge for you to crack."

"Well then Chloe, don't flatter yourself either. But since you thought of it first and assumed it to be so, may be it's your motivations that need to be looked at. Are you always this rude? Or do you reserve this special treatment for me? I wonder. Are you just as rude to this Clark who from this afternoon's respite seems to be a fixture in your dreams?" Bruce Wayne knows that he was treading a very thin line. He was allowed to continue his visits with Chloe only by his explicit promise to Dr. Hawkins that he will not in anyway do anything to upset her which was basically what he was doing right now. One word from Chloe Sullivan and he knew without a shadow of a doubt that the protective Dr. Hawkins would have his ass thrown out of Belle Reve. Financial grants be damned. However, he somehow knew that Chloe was not the type to run off to someone for that someone else to take care of whatever it was that was bothering her.

Chloe was silent and it was this silence that goaded Bruce Wayne into saying what he said next, in a conspiratorial whisper "So who is this enigmatic Clark? I take it that he is someone special. A former boyfriend perhaps? I'm guessing that he is supposedly someone who you have convinced yourself to be the love of your life and ruined you for other men, leaving this cantankerous shrewish Katherine waiting for her Petruchio." Bruce was unsure why he proceeded to tease Chloe in that manner and he was surely regretting it now as she looks at him with those eyes that were flashing with anger and barely concealed pain. Obviously he has picked at a wound that has yet to heal. For once he cursed his feckless recklessness and regretted his glibness in which he executed this taunting.

Chloe looks up at him and wordlessly walked away. Ashamed at his behavior and quite taken aback at her apparent lack of energy to retaliate or rebuff him, it took a few seconds before it registered what has just happened before he rose from his chair with alacrity and ran off after her. She was already in the Belle Reve's main hall when he caught up with her.

"Chloe! Wait. I'm sorry. I was just teasing you. Look why don't we start over."

"Hah! What you are asking for is totally impossible given that the horror of knowing you is seared into my memory. So much so that I can still smell the putrid stench of my brain being fried by your arrogance. Didn't your parents teach you any manners?"

"Ouch! I guess I deserved that. Well, they died when I was young and was left to be raised by the help. Although, Alfred, our family butler and the only family I have, is the most well-mannered gentleman I have ever met. He laments the fact that it has not rubbed off on me. Look Chloe, I…for some reason…I would like to be your friend."

"Why don't' you have enough friends your age?" she shot back.

"Please make this easy on me. I never had to beg so much for anything in my life and frankly I'm new to this groveling. Usually, I only have to smile and the women are lent incapable of rational thought where I'm concerned." His self-depreciation was an honest reflection of how the ladies really behaved around Bruce Wayne.

Assessing his motives for his persistence and that recent disclosure, Chloe stares straight into his eyes and without blinking asks, "Why do you want to be my friend?"

"Frankly, I don't know. Is that enough?" Strangely not unnerved by this, Bruce was uncommonly more honest with Chloe than he ever was with anyone. With the possible exception of his honesty to Alfred Pennyworth, his butler. Not hard to be when the old man was more like a father to him than a servant.

"No." Chloe raises an eyebrow and then makes her way up into her dormitory. Leaving a perplexed Bruce in the middle of the hallway, where he calls up to her retreating form. "So does that mean I can still come see you?"

"Sure. When pigs fly."


	7. Chapter 7

WRITTEN OUT

Chapter Seven

Summary: Chloe is returned ten years after she was abducted during Dark Thursday. Probably Chlark / Chruce. Set Post-Freak. Connecting events as told in the movie Superman Returns.

Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville, Superman or Batman

Everyone noticed it. Alfred was bemused by this change in his young master. Strange it almost felt like Bruce Wayne was, for lack of a better word, happy. He has been to Belle Reve far more times than he could count to visit a young attractive blonde. On one of their visits, he was asked to buy a live piglet and dress it up as an angel to which he was about to ask whatever for but was silenced with a look that said to do just as he said. Even more curious was that he was asked to dangle the piglet down that young lady's window with a sign affixed saying, "Pigs do fly."

After all, he has been recipient of many a strange request and like all gentlemen's butlers of a certain dying breed like Jeeves, he wordlessly follows unless he is undoubtedly certain that his master is not about to get himself into major trouble. Not that there seemed to be anything wrong right now that could be picked up as a scandal by the local tabloids or be connected in anyway to link Bruce Wayne and the brooding gothic night-time alter-ego that he has built up.

Alfred was suspicious of any Master Bruce's lady friends but Chloe Sullivan was different from all the rest. She was, unlike everybody else, knew how to put Bruce Wayne in his place and was not afraid to stand up to him when the need calls for it. She also often comported herself in a way that said that she wasn't just anyone who would do the horizontal tango with a billionaire just to get something out of it. More importantly, she treated everyone in the Wayne Manor with respect but not in the over supercilious way that was bordering on patronizing that the last paramour Bruce had subjected the household help with. She was a great favorite and spent much of the time at Wayne Manor practicing fencing with Master Bruce, playing scrabble or chess, or watching movies and it was during these times when he could see how Bruce Wayne could've been if he were allowed to lead a normal life.

Given that Chloe seemed to be all that, he often wondered why the young woman was in Belle Reve and once had the courage to ask Chloe this. To which she replied in all seriousness, "This may not make sense to either you or me just yet Alfred but I think it's because I'm cast in a tragedy."

This one comment was said so simply and with such acceptance that Alfred gave this young woman with a look of concern which Chloe tried to dispel with her usual bubbly exuberance. But that comment lingered in the old man's head and he was unable to shake it off. At the end of the day when Chloe was being consigned to Belle Reve and Bruce was called off to an emergency for the Justice League which was hurriedly disguised as a Board Meeting, Alfred volunteered to drive her back.

As she stepped out of the car, he gives her his private mobile number, "Miss, if you are ever in need of help and cannot get in touch of Master Bruce or if you just need anything, please feel free to call me at any hour of the day or night."

Chloe looks at the dignified old man and she couldn't understand why his offer of kindness brought tears to her eyes. Though her interaction and support from Dr. Hawkins who was acting like a father to her and Bruce's attempts to draw her out, she still felt alone especially when she still had to stay at Belle Reve and both of them are gone or out. Somehow, these words left her feeling less isolated, that someone out there actually cares for her. Contemplating on whether Alfred would be taken aback by what she was going to do and deciding that it didn't matter, she tiptoed and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek as she softly said, "Thank you Alfred. That's really sweet but you don't have to worry about me. I can take care of myself. I'm fine."

"Still. If you need us. Please don't hesitate to call Master Bruce. Or if you'd rather call someone else, my offer of assistance stands without expiration."

"I will try to remember that. Oh! And Alfred, as an initial request for your assistance, if I may. I'd like to enlist your confidence and hope that you don't tell Bruce any of this. I don't want him to worry. It's just some silly thing that I've been mulling about lately. It's really nothing just my overactive imagination."

Perturbed by this request, Alfred however gave his word and watched Chloe until he knew that she was safely inside.

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At the headquarters of the Justice League, one lone figure can be seen pacing in the room, the air crackling with energy. It was inevitable. All secrets have a tendency to surface and in a roomful of individuals whose business it was to dispense and barter truths where it only served the greater purpose of their group, some things were just bound to be kept hidden only for a time until it surfaces unbidden. It is not to say that each one did not keep secrets from each other but it was increasingly difficult to do so.

This was one of those times, apparently. Most of the other members in the Justice League noted a difference. Something has indeed changed about two of their members. The change was almost imperceptible at first but lately it was becoming more noticeable. Bart Allen, with his ever caustic sense of humor, had even cracked a joke about it, "The world must be coming to an end when Batman is less brooding and Superman is more so. Don't look now but the two of them may even be switching colors. Hmmmm… I may just try the same because I heard that web-crawling, wall-scaling dude in New York started off this trend."

Clark knew that Bruce and he were never the best of friends and so they pretty much only skirted around each other's lives outsides of Superman and Batman. Until that fateful afternoon when their worlds seemingly collided.

Clark was dropping in to see Chloe without her knowing it, when he chanced upon her in the lawn of Belle Reve, dozing off in the sweltering afternoon heat. She looked so peaceful and he couldn't believe how much painful it was to see her and not be able to talk to her, to find out how she's doing, or be a part of her life in anyway that he could be. Harder still since now that he knew that she was there, it was almost as if he was mourning her every single day. He deserved all of that as well and though he did promise to stay away from her, he couldn't bring himself to go away. To efface himself from her life so completely as he was still compelled to check up on her just see if she was okay. He was suffering and he knew that it was only because of himself and his perennial ability to stick his foot in his mouth. This self-exile was his penance and if it were to be a lifetime of just mere glimpses of her shadow, then he had to bury the pain where no one could see it and deal with this as best as he could.

And so seeing her there lying so peacefully was the closest he has ever been to see her since that night. He watches her shift in her sleep, the heat obviously making her uncomfortable. He longed to push the hair out of her face but he knew that he didn't deserve this sanctuary from this whirling cesspool of self-recrimination. So he blows her a gentle breeze and allows him to let him do that which he repeatedly tells himself he doesn't deserve to do. He hears her say his name, a feat that was not difficult considering his super hearing, but he wasn't the only person there to hear that. He also saw Bruce Wayne. Saw and heard their heated exchange and since then he was rendered suspicious of his actions. He knew that he constantly took her out to Wayne Manor Knew as well that she would be returned promptly at 6 p.m. in compliance woth Dr. Hawkins' curfew and that her improvement was in due part because of Bruce's efforts as well. But if he felt that Batman was a suspicious character in his overt acceptance of the darkness and because of his methods, Bruce was even the more dangerous of the two because his darkness gnawed at him from the inside and Chloe needed someone to pluck her out before she could even plunge further headlong into this dark world that Bruce Wayne has created for himself.

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On the way to the Justice League Headquarters, Bruce was consumed by a conversation he had with Chloe that afternoon. It started off just like any other afternoon that they spent together. However, Chloe was uncharacteristically quiet after watching "Eternal Sunshine in the Spotless Mind". He settles onto one of the many ottomans in his recreational room, watching a listless Chloe stare unseeing into the screen where the credits are currently running, he clears his throat and hands her a mug of hot chocolate which she sips absent-mindedly. Not a good sign as she has in more than one occasion chided him for his lack of appreciation for caffeine which was according to her, her "poison of choice".

"I take it that you hate the movie. Hate it to the point that your brain was fried and short-circuited your taste buds because I just gave you hot chocolate and you didn't even bother giving me any of your scathing remarks."

At this Chloe merely grunts her response and continues to stare into the screen. Bruce tries to get her attention and gets up to sit closer to her. With obvious concern still etched on his face, he tries to feign nonchalance as Chloe hates being fussed over, "Hey. A penny for your thoughts?"

That particular line delivered in the same way reminded Chloe of a blow up in the not so distant past. Shaking her head and standing up to turn the DVD off, she rants passionately, "I hate that phrase! Discussions that start with that cliché never turn out well and so I vote that it should be eviscerated from the English language." Stopping in the middle of her diatribe, she plants her hands on her waist and gestures with her head, "Let's fence."

Nonplussed by this evasion, he obliges her and meets her in the fencing room when they were both changed for that activity. Determined to get into the root of all this, Bruce decided to deal with this in the way that Chloe would always respond to. He would be quiet and not ask her about it.

Half an hour later into their match, as each move forward and plunge was met, his frustration becomes evident in the speed with which his sword advanced and flashed only to be blocked effectively by Chloe. A metaphor for the seeming impasse in their relationship, or rather in their friendship. She remains impenetrable in her silence and reticence and it was at this realization that Bruce was most discomfited. Not because of her suspicion and inability to break that down but as to why he would want to do so in the first place. It was apparent that his interest for Chloe has stopped being business-related for a long time and he wasn't particularly ready to face what it was yet. Out of breathe, their match finished with Chloe winning it hands down, they both faced off each other and bowed as in the tradition of the French masters who have made the rules of the game.

As they removed their face masks and sat down on the benches to cool themselves off, Chloe watches Bruce drink from his water bottle as sunlight breaking through a nearby stained glass window picks shadows and lights across his face. Aware of her gaze, he continues to face away from her so that only his profile is seen, "Chloe, you liking what you see?" A smile evident from his voice.

"You are indeed as arrogant and as cocky as the Gotham press write you up to be and to think I nearly was about to turn a 180 degree on my opinion regarding the nobility of the press as a profession." She smiles indulgently at him, then turning suddenly semi-serious she asks Bruce, "I was thinking about the movie a bit. Have you ever thought of erasing your memory of someone?"

"No." Stopping a beat for effect, he continues, "Oh wait. Yes there were drunken moments with some random girl that ended up on the tabloid that I would really want to undo."

Chloe rolls his eyes at him and Bruce was actually amused at being able to have that effect on her and decided to tease her about it, "You know you might want to stop doing that lest your face freezes mid-roll."

"I do it because I'm supposedly a teenager and teenagers still do that now, right?" Her condition was an open topic with them.

"I get the feeling though that even when you were in your teens, you were wiser beyond your years. What about you? Anyone worth erasing from your memory? The quarterback from your high school football team? The lone brooding high school bad boy? Is it a lost love? Whose skeletons are in your closet Chloe Sullivan? That I'd like to know."

"Not skeletons. Skeleton. Just one."

"Who is he? Or is it she?" His heart pounding at the coming disclosure.

"He. And inasmuch as I don't really know or remember much, this thing I do remember for sure. I don't swing that way."

Trying to mask his relief. He prods on, "So what did he do?"

"Nothing. He didn't do anything. I was the best friend, the go-to girl. He was in love with someone else and therein lies my pathetic sob story. He wasn't unkind. In fact the situation was more cruel because he was kind."

An invisible hand seemed to have clutched at his insides and his voice was tight as he asked her, "So this guy. What's his name? What was he like?" This afternoon was a roller coaster of emotions. Emotions that he used to successfully check. He didn't want to know who it was but a perverse part of him wanted to hear it out loud about this rival who he already knew having been witness to their good bye at the time when all he had wanted of her was to discover something to put Wayne Technologies ahead of LuthorCorp. He chides himself for this seemingly minor miscalculated deviation in the plan – how did he end up becoming sloppy and letting himself fall in love with her? With that he cursed himself inwardly even more. Now that he has admitted it to himself, there was no way he could take it back.

Meanwhile, Chloe takes a deep breath and was about to launch into a topic that she has so completely kept under wraps for so long and was begging for release when she stopped and saw Bruce, obviously struggling with some inner dialogue, "You know what? Let's not listen to my sob story. I'm just not …I pushed him away and I feel that I should start talking to him about this epic elephant in the room that we have been trying to ignore. Or rather that I was trying so desperately to cover up. But I don't think it's working though. He is so much a part of who I am."

His feelings was a swirling tempest at her words, its implication dawning clearly as to why he was compelled to befriend Chloe now so obviously clear. Bruce chooses his words carefully, avoiding looking into her eyes lest she guesses what he had just found out, "So you still love him?"

"Yes." And with that one word, Bruce Wayne had never had a moment in his life when he wanted to just shove Kryptonite down Clark Kent's throat. However, he knew that Chloe would track him down and make him sorry for that. So it is with this frame of mind that he goes to the JL Headquarters in response to calls for him to come immediately and cut short Chloe's visit. And the only way he could even begin to fathom working with Superman now is by keenly avoiding having to deal with him more than what was necessary.

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Bruce rarely entered the Justice League as Bruce Wayne. There was only one time wherein he could remember doing that. The first time was when the Bat Cave has been infiltrated by the Riddler and had torched the entire place. This time, he was too distracted by his conversation with Chloe. All of the other members kept spare outfits in the headquarters and he knew that he'd be able to change in the event that they needed to head out. Well, everyone with the possible exception of Superman. He always came in his outfit. Everyone knew his every day persona but that didn't stop him from keeping everything else under wraps. It was ridiculous though how no one Metropolis could see behind those silly glasses that he hides behind. Either the entire city was filled with short-sighted buffoons who can't see past the edge of their noses. Not least of which is that partner of Clark Kent in the Daily Planet, Lois Lane who cannot put two and two together even if it slapped her in the face. It makes Bruce wonder whether Clark has chosen Lois Lane over Chloe and why would he choose such an obviously paltry imitation of her. Bruce did know that he was being unkind but obviously, intelligent life forms outside of Earth were just as unevolved as they are on this planet. Clark is a big dumb alien. Stupid, blistering idiot. And he was warming up on this point, trying to think of monikers for Clark when he was met with the devil himself and no one else from the Justice League.

Bruce intones in an unmistakably displeased voice, "So where is everyone else?"

"There's no one else. Just you and me." It was at this point that Bruce noticed that he was not facing Superman but mild-mannered Clark Kent minus the glasses.

"Look, you may not think of it much but I'm a very busy person. You have called me out of an important appointment for nothing? What are you getting at?"

"Appointment?! Is that what you call it nowadays? I think you know why I'm talking to you. I came here to talk about Chloe Sullivan. What are you up to?"

"I believe that is none of your business."

"Not where she is concerned."

"Tell me Clark, who are you? Are you her guardian? Her brother? Her best friend? Do you fancy yourself to have some claim over her like a significant other? I don't see what business you have in asking me this nor in asking her."

Both men are now facing each other. Glaring and silently prodding each to act. The tension simmering at the surface ready to explode. It is Clark who drops the gauntlet first, "She is nothing more but a child Bruce!"

"Or so you say and would like to believe. To you she may be but she is not a child anymore Clark. Let her make her choice."

Clark's voice resonated with disbelief, "What?! You have got to be kidding? And what is that choice? You? You will just hurt her and I cannot allow that to happen. Have you even told her about your night-time activities? Don't you think that there's been too much pain in her life as it is? And being with you can only bring in insufferable pain later on and I'll be damned if I'll stand by and watch that happen."

Impatient with all of Clark's arguments, Bruce counters passionately, "You want to save her?! Fine! But who will save her from you? Like you did not ignore her and use her as a crutch all through those years. She has told me as much. What choice are you offering her, Clark? Do the right thing for once and let her go."

"I cannot." Clark's voice vehement and challenging.

"And why is that? Tell me this, what options are you willing to offer her? Leave her be."

"I tell you I cannot do as you ask me to." Clark punches a hole through the table as he pounded his fist in barely restrained frustration.

Bruce seethes in anger, he growls out, "Why? So far I haven't heard a valid reason why I should step back and allow you to insinuate yourself into her life until you've sucked her dry, drove away everyone she could possibly love and leave her alone." Then as if the wind was let out of his sail, Bruce admits one thing that he has only recently admitted to himself, "I love her and I believe that is not a crime." His steel blue eyes staring straight into Clark's own, daring him to disagree.

Clark mutters a curse under his breathe and closes his eyes. He tries not to imagine whether Chloe may be feeling the same about Bruce Wayne. Though there is that possibility since after all the Wayne charm was legend and even Lois at one point was not immune to it. "I'll tell you why. Because all those years, I fooled myself into thinking that what we had was right and it was all wrong. At some level, I must have known it all along but I buried it deep down because every time it seemed that we had that chance, she pushed me away and I was too scared to ruin our friendship and lose her forever. I…it may be too late but I love her too Bruce. I stayed away then as I stayed away now because she asked me to and as painful as that was for me, I led myself to believe that that lie was the best version of my reality."

Bruce glares at him in incredulity. "You are a self-centered, arrogant prick, do you know that? You've had all those years. You wasted it. May be she pushed you away because she wanted you to fight for her. Hasn't that occurred to you? I am not going to repeat myself more than twice. Leave her alone." A veiled threat leaving that sentence unfinished.

"I can't escape it no matter how much I run circles around her and what she means to me. In that I am worse than the sorry son of a btch that I've become. If I do decide to do something about this, what are you going to do about it?" Clark challenges him.

"So help me God Clark! I would like to throttle you and lock you up in that Phantom Zone you were always talking about! I would love nothing more but to get her out of that god-forsaken place, knock down my house and rebuild it with kryptonite so that you cannot get to her ever. But there ought to be honor amongst fools who both love the same woman. So, I'm not going to do anything. You know why? Because for better or for worse, she has changed me. Because where I used to listen to my own voice and did what I normally do no matter the cost or who got hurt, now Chloe is the voice inside my head that stays me and tells me when I've gone too far. Frankly, right now she's the only one standing between you and being reunited with your annihilated race. So as much as I would like to tell you to get the hell out and don't you dare come near her. Ultimately I know that it is her choice and though I say this, I think that it is a chance you don't deserve."

As each man stands his ground, the headquarters' door opens and Oliver Queen was met with the curious scene before him of Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent staring at each other with unbridled disdain.

-------

**Excerpt from Future Chapters…**

Lex meets Clark on his way out of Belle Reve…

"Clark, I can see that one last strong tie to the past has successfully brought us together. Curious isn't it how Chloe manages to be always at the center around which we orbit."

Anxious at seeing Lex in Belle Reve, Clark was impatient to see Chloe and find out whether Lex was stupid enough to try anything crazy but not before getting a rise out of his former best friend, "Coming back to tie the loose strings that your incompetent henchman left hanging? What do you want from her Lex? If you so much as laid a hand on her, I swear…"

Lex cuts him off, "Save it, Boy Scout. I came here to enlist your help. She is not safe from Bruce Wayne. Do try to save her for once and not fail this time." As they stand there face to face, Lex seems almost sincere. His cold grey eyes retained some shadow of his former self as he said this and for once Clark almost believed him after all these years of the damaging secrets and lies that ate away at their friendship.

But then just like that, the moment was gone and where he stood, Clark saw the hard set face of his nemesis of ten years slide back into place once again. But what he said remained. Was Chloe in danger by knowing Bruce Wayne? Would Lex even bother if it were not true? In some strange way, there was a time when Lex was protective of Chloe and it could possibly be true this time as well. Of everyone, it was Chloe who could always tell Lex the truth and so became a credible moral compass who egged him to become a better person, with or without his blessing. But for now, he had to see Chloe even if there is still that possibility that she will have him ejected unceremoniously out of Belle Reve. He will have time to confront Bruce Wayne about that after he sees for himself that Chloe is okay.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Summary: Chloe is returned ten years after she was abducted during Dark Thursday. Probably Chlark / Chruce. Set Post-Freak. Connecting events as told in the movie Superman Returns.

Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville, Superman or Batman

There are times and places when even heroes, as indestructible as they may be, realize that they are mortal. Though in all outward appearances nothing has changed and that power and the confidence of future victories unclaimed emanates from their entire being, but that cannot be said at the time when the Man of Steel stood right outside of Belle Reve. There was something about him as he gazed across the vast expanse of Belle Reve's lawn at a young blonde woman playing Frisbee with an elderly gentleman in a white coat and his sleeves rolled up. Her soft musical laughter is carried by the wind and he already knows that the young woman was incessantly playfully teasing the older gentleman as he fumbles for the Frisbee that whizzed by. For that particular moment, he reeked of defeat – the kind of defeat and its attendant hopelessness that only a mortal would know. What even rankled his soul was that he could have been right there with her. He could've been at the receiving end of her amazing smiles again like it once was, years back in high school, which seemed like a lifetime away. But that he had forfeited it through his own stupidity. Strange, how her smiles made the world seem right and he had never even noticed it until it was denied him.

Clark pushes out a shaky breath of frustration and not thinking about it had expelled quite a gust towards the direction of Chloe and Dr. Hawkins. The Frisbee knocked clear out into the left field of Belle Reve, the energetic game was broken up momentarily as Dr. Hawkins rushes to fetch the errant toy from the clutches of one of the other patients, who just happened to pick it up.

Dr. Hawkins' clear crisp tones could be heard above the noise, not that it was difficult for Clark to tune into their conversation,, "Well not to be accused of standing here gormless as the saucer flew out of my hand, I have elected to retrieve it from being chewed up by Anita, who seems to think that this is pizza that has been dropped off by the Angel Gabriel. Interesting. So right, Chloe that was quite a gust of wind we just had."

Chloe was seen peering into the direction of where Clark was at that moment, her hands planted on her waist, "Huh?"

"I said that was quite a gust of wind." Dr. Hawkins walk up to where Chloe was standing and demanded attention tentatively, "Er Chloe? Anything amiss?"

Chloe peels her eyes away from at the spot where Clark stood before and turns her full gaze upon the doctor, "Uh, no. Nothing wrong. I just thought I saw somebody I knew beyond that tree outside Belle Reve."

"Really? Creeps and neighborhood hooligans! Who do you suppose is it? I cannot see anything as my spectacles need to be refractured and reset again." And to emphasize his point, Dr. Hawkins removes his glasses and uses the edge of his doctor's coat to clean the offending articles before ramming it back up on the bridge of his nose.

"No, no. I must be seeing things. Just probably a shadow or something. What was strange though was that gust of wind. For a minute there I thought I heard someone say 'Chloe'."

Dr. Hawkins looks over at his charge with concern and proposes to end the game prematurely, "Why don't we head on inside? I think we've had enough exercise for one day. Or rather I've had enough exercise for one day."

Dr. Hawkins gently shepherds Chloe back into Belle Reve but not without peering across the field trying to discern whether there might be someone lurking beyond its walls in the distance. He notices that Chloe's arms are wrapped tight around her. Making their way slowly up the steps of Belle Reve, she shivers against the wind which she tries to cover up as if she was just shrugging. As they reached the landing, they were met by a tall imposing figure shielding his eyes against the sunlight, "Ah there you are!" As the newcomer joins in step with Dr. Hawkins and Chloe, he briefly nods to the older gentleman, "Dr. Hawkins"

"Bruce," the older man nods curtly in return. After which the group has fallen silent. It was just a few seconds but felt longer than that. The three of them were standing awkwardly in the lobby, waiting for each other to speak. Bruce was rocking on his heels, his eyebrows arched as he put a hand to his mouth while he cleared his throat. Dr. Hawkins was staring fixedly at the younger man, his arms crossed in front of him, a definite air of disapproval hanging about him. Just then, Nurse Jenkins bustles in and bursts out, "Dr. Hawkins! Do come quickly. It's Anita. She has cut herself."

The heavy blanket of silence was lifted and Dr. Hawkins was propelled to move towards Chloe as she stands there biting her nails, "Chloe? I have to leave you for a while. Will you be alright?" Chloe nods quietly and Dr. Hawkins hurries off in the wake of Nurse Jenkins.

Bruce watches this curious exchange and steps closer to Chloe as soon as Dr. Hawkins has left. He crouches to be eye level with her, concerned that this entire time, Chloe has not spoken and was looking rather pale. He reaches out to gently grab her shoulders and quietly whispers so as not to spook her any further, "Hey. What's wrong? Did something happen today?"

Chloe was shaken out of her inner musings and smiles unconvincingly up at Bruce, "No nothing's the matter Bruce. Stop being such a fuddy duddy." She punches him in the arm and then turns abruptly away, bouncing off into the foyer. Bruce was left standing there, with a confused and unconvinced look upon his face. Chloe peeks from the behind the door and sings out, "You coming or not?"

Bruce then follows her into the foyer where Chloe has settled on a settee near the bay glass window as the afternoon sun shines brightly in the background. Bruce lowers himself in the seat opposite Chloe and hunches forward, resting both his arms on his knees. He takes a moment to say what he says, as if contemplating the right words to say next, "Look Chlo – "

Chloe looks up bemused at him and interrupts him midway, "Don't call me that. It's what Clark calls me. So just for the record Bruce, you're a crap liar. I know you have something on your mind so just spill it. I don't have all day. We have rules here you know. Lights out at 9. It's not as if it has escaped my attention that Dr. Hawkins is quite suspicious of you and will not agree to breaking that rule even for me. So what's up my dedicated social director?"

"Okay. You got me," Bruce holds up his hands in mock surrender. "But before I save you from the extreme boredom and depressing atmosphere of this place, I have to tell you this."

"Nuh-uh. Bruce don't spoil the fun."

"No Chloe. Listen to me. I'd like to think that we are friends. I have to admit that was not what I initially had in mind when I first saw you – "

Chloe takes the opportunity to stick in the mickey at Bruce and tease him, "Aha! I knew it. Dr. Hawkins was right in warning me about you and your dastardly plots to take advantage of my relative innocence."

"Chloe, stop it. All I wanted to say was that you keep me up at night. Almost incessantly. I'm worried about you. I guess all I'm trying to say is that if there's anything wrong, you have to promise me. Promise me that you'd tell me and that you'd let me do something about it. Promise?" By this time Bruce has reached over towards Chloe and his hands dwarf Chloe's as he holds it firmly in his grasp. His eyes dark and his tone deep in seriousness.

Chloe was wary about what Bruce was saying and what he was leaving unsaid. So she pulls out her hands from his hold and tried to be flippant, as she puffs a breath to keep the bangs out of her eyes, "Fine. Stop being so melodramatic Bruce or else I might have to find someone else more fun to be with. So I spy an envelope in your jacket, what is that?"

Worried about Chloe pulling away and of the import of what he just said, Bruce then sits back and crosses his legs, "Well wouldn't you want to know."

"Oh no! Are you here to drag me off to some fancy fund raising event to raise awareness about lumbago or something like medicinal treatment from the Amazon rainforest destined to cure the world of cancer, warts and butt rash again? I mean you already know that I find it immensely boring mixing with your kind of people and I think that it was absolutely wicked of you to sell that event to me the last time by telling me that is a coffee bean exhibit, Imagine my shock when there we were with a gaggle of your sad older women groupies, coquettishly batting their eyelash while talking about the war in Darfur as if they actually knew what was going on. Therefore, save it because my answer is 'no'. Crack open your little black book Bruce and choose one name from your harem. Tell you what, hand it over and I'll even help you pick out a name. Who would you want to drive away this time? How about this girl I met in one of your parties who has the entire supply of Silicon Valley stuffed in her chest named Olly?" Chloe's smile lighting up her face is impish and utterly endearing.

"Ah I would hand it over to you but I vowed to my last serious girlfriend that I would hand over the Wayne little black book to only one person and that would be the poor unfortunate but extremely smart woman who concedes to marry me." Bruce's eyes gleaming in danger, he is serious as he continues as he reaches into his breast pocket and deposits a little black book on the coffee table in front of Chloe, "Well, why not? Here's my book now you have to marry me. Ever fancy becoming Mrs. Bruce Wayne?" Not daring to exhale as he is in amazement at the audacity of this question, which he has longed to say since that day he realized his feelings for her. Except that he would've said that he loves her but seeing Chloe sitting there shell-shocked, it hurt to push all that was bubbling on the surface back down but in part in an effort towards saving her from answering and largely for self-preservation, he lets out a laugh although the mirth of his action does not reach his eyes, "Got you. So who's the fuddy duddy now? You should've seen your face. I wish I had a camera around."

Chloe brings a hand up to her chest in relief and joins in his laughter, not noticing another emotion darkening Bruce's eyes, "Oh my god! Bruce, what a hoot! Don't do that again. I nearly had a coronary which is probably the thing that happened to your last serious girlfriend."

"No she actually survived my proposal to have the sense to say 'no' and proceed to agree and marry a decent bloke. The wedding invitation of which is what I have inside my jacket. I was wondering if you would do me the honor of being my escort?"

He reaches into his jacket again and produces a cream colored envelope.

Chloe's eyes momentarily flickered with sympathy at what just Bruce disclosed but knowing that Bruce wouldn't stand to be pitied, she disguised this by reaching over to get the envelope from his outstretched arm and reading the invitation. Bruce catching her eyes briefly understood what she was feeling and tried to dispel her concern, "I've moved on Chloe. No need to cast me as a modern-day brooding Heathcliffe."

Chloe raises an eyebrow at this, "Believe me Bruce, you're no Heathcliffe." She looks down and traces the embossed lettering on the wedding this invitation, "So this Rachel Daws, she must be a pretty special lady."

"She is." Bruce eyes her as she continues to turn the wedding invitation over but Chloe did not dare to look up.

At this vague but also seemingly telling response, she hazards a glance up at him, "So what happened? Between you two I mean."

"It was far too complicated. I couldn't give her what she needs and Eric could. He is my friend too and so I'm happy for both of them. So no need to worry that you'll be accompanying some sick forlorn heartbroken puppy to his ex's wedding. I promise to be more fun than that. Say you'll please come with me. I've already replied for 2 and a pink gown does not look becoming on Alfred."

Chloe chuckles at the mental image, "Why don't you just take one of your numerous girl friends. I'm sure that they would be happy to oblige and fill up that pink gown."

"Because if I wanted for that night to turn into a chore, I would be at Wayne Enterprises going over the financial statements with my group controller for the 18th time. At least that time would have been productive but of an infinite mind-numbing pain. Save me."

"Okay. Fine, I'll do it but I don't have anything to wear and I'm not wearing pink."

"We can go to a boutique tomorrow and you can choose to your heart's content anything non-conformist my little avant-garde heroine. Anything low cut or bare back would be fine as well."

"Ugh! You are such a decrepit misogynistic Neanderthal. I'm not going to any boutique with you to be dolled up like a tawdry and kitsch real life 'Pretty Woman' remake."

"What? Did I say something wrong? I thought every woman's dream was to have someone like Richard Gere treat them like Julia Roberts in that film." Bruce's eyebrows are knit in confusion.

"That would have to imply that you ARE the Richard Gere in this circumstance. I think not." Chloe gives an unladylike snort at this and strikes a thinking pose as she rebuts, "Pretty Woman? That's what you use as a guide to the female psyche?!? I mean I can't possibly see why you are still single when you are so enlightened. I mean that movie is like the modern stereotype of Cinderella where a dashing prince saves them from real life only this time it's some big shot chief executive soliciting a hooker out of the slums? Yeah, sure that's what ALL women, including me, have always aspired to be. "

"So what do you propose to do? As fetching as you are in green, I'm not going to be taking you out wearing a Belle Reve gown."

"I'll borrow from some of the nurses here. I'm sure there's someone my size."

"And if there's none?"

"Then you better wheedle Alfred into that pink gown you've had stashed away in your mansion."

A warning in his voice, Bruce intones "Chloe, I never figured you to back out from anything. I'm relying on you to come with me to that wedding."

"Don't worry, have I let you down before?" And with that their discussion was finished because Nurse Jenkins had to usher Chloe back as instructed by Dr. Hawkins. It is 9 p.m. and it was past the institution's curfew.

-----

A week before the wedding, Chloe was unsuccessful in finding a dress. No one had anything that could be worn in a fancy event as the wedding of Eric Forsyth to one Rachel Daws but she was loath to ask Bruce for help. So she calls the only other person she knows in that timeline.

A falsely cheerful voice crackles over the line, "Hello Daily Planet. How may we help you?"

Chloe's knuckles were white as she grips the phone really hard, "Uh yes. Can you please connect me to Clark Kent?"

"One moment please."

Pipe in music starts playing in the background. It would have been funny if she was not so nervous but the music playing was what Lex and Lana first danced to as an officially wedded couple. It sort of reminder her of a requiem and look how their marriage turned out. She must remember to make a note to herself and not pick that song when she gets married. What was even funnier is the fact that she was thinking about all these tangential things given the task on hand. After all, here she was on the phone waiting for her estranged friend so that she could say, "Why hello Clark? How have you been buddy? You think you can nick me one of the gowns off Lois' closet for Saturday so that I could go with Bruce Wayne to the wedding of her ex-girlfriend?" Right. That just about sounds like she was not crazy at all. Actually, she has been meaning to give him a call a few months back but it got harder and harder to pick up the receiver as she keeps pushing it off and so while she was consumed by these thoughts, she was almost glad to think that may be Clark was not in the office and could very well be out on field work. Suddenly his voice is at the other end of the line, "Hello?"

Chloe nearly almost drops the receiver and breathes out a curse under her breath that Clark heard. "Chloe? Is that you? Wait hold up. I'll be right there."

"Clark, wait, wait. I'm fine. Nothing's – "

Just as she was about to finish that sentence, she felt a whoosh of movement behind her and Clark's deep tenor sounded awfully closer than being at the other end of the line, "What's wrong?"

Chloe bites her lip and gently uses the receiver to knock herself in the forehead before turning around to face him.

"Hey Clark. Nothing's wrong. I just thought that…uhm thought that we could talk." Chloe grimaces as she knows how lamely that ended.

Clark breaks out into a tentative smile at this, "Chloe you had me worried there. I thought something has happened to you."

"Sorry I scared you. I never should have given you a ring. You must be really busy. I mean we could talk later."

"Are you kidding me? I'm not going to let this pass me by considering you haven't talked to me in 5 months. I wouldn't want you to change your mind."

"No. No. You have a job. Go. It was silly really. We can catch up later."

"Just give me a sec." Clark fishes for his mobile phone inside his jacket and dials in a number. Chloe watches him curiously as he holds out a finger to her, admonishing her to keep quiet. Clark fakes a cough or two as he says in a gravelly voice, "Hi Perry! Yeah. I'm not feeling well. I'm not going to be in for the entire day." Just for good measure, he puts in a cough as the other person seems to be saying something. "Yeah Perry. I know you saw me punch in today but I've clocked out to go home. I think I'm coming down with something. Sure. I'll call you if I still don't feel better tomorrow. Okay bye. Thanks!" Clark then turns to face her, "Now that that's out of the way, we could spend the entire day together? Where would you want to go?"

"Clark, your mom would've been at your case if you played hooky."

"Some things are far more important than my job Chlo. I think she'd understand. So would you like to go on a picnic? Crater Lake is beautiful this time of the year."

"Yeah I remember that but I can't leave Belle Reve." Chloe smiles wistfully, remembering times long past.

"Well, Bruce Wayne seems to have some kind of special license to take you out. I've seen you out with him."

"What?!? Have you been spying on me Clark Jerome Kent?" Chloe's face darkens at this.

"Excuse me! But before we fight about this, I saw a couple of pictures of you two together splashed on the social section of the Inquisitor." Clark feels guilty about this half lie but their interaction now seems tenuous at best. He doesn't want to pick a fight like he did the last time. The last 5 months was pure agony and he did not relish making that arrangement permanent.

"Oh! Sorry, I didn't want to jump on your case but Bruce is my friend and I just hate how the tabloids are hyping up our friendship to be more than what it is. He's a decent guy."

"I hope he is."

Chloe lets the comment slide, intent on not picking a fresh fight when they've just started to speak to each other. "Well, what I meant was that when Bruce takes me out of Belle Reve, he asks Dr. Hawkins about it."

"Is that it? I can talk to him right now."

"Wait. I have to warn you Dr. Hawkins is a bit strict so when you ask him if you could take me out, don't smile too much. If you do, he'd think that you were trying to take me to some make-out point. He's protective that way."

Clark smiles assuredly at this, "Chlo, Crater's Lake, back in high school up until now, **IS** a make-out point."

"Well of course it is and that is beside the point." Chloe blushes as the words don't come out the way she meant it to. "I mean, like that would ever happen. We're friends. Nothing more than that but this is no time to be accurate as black and white, Clark."

"You have nothing to worry about. Believe it or not, Dr. Hawkins may not like Bruce Wayne but he seems to like me."

Twenty minutes later, Clark was sitting across the desk of Dr. Hawkins who was eyeing him like an eagle. If he had the ability to feel nervous and break out into a cold sweat without the presence of Kryptonite around, he would probably be doing that right now. Nevertheless, he felt his throat was dry and getting words out was difficult as Dr. Hawkins leans forward and interrogates, reminding him a bit of Gabe Sullivan.

"So Mr. Kent, good of you to drop back into Ms. Sullivan's life but I can't let you take her out and leave her all dejected again when you just as suddenly drop out. Where are you taking her?"

"Crater Lake, sir. I mean doctor." A flustered Clark tries to cover a glaring mistake in the appellation which obviously displeased Dr. Hawkins. He tentatively continues, "I'd like to take her on a picnic seeing that she doesn't get out much. I think it would be good for her to get out of Belle Reve once in a while. I've read somewhere that a change of scenery is essential to avoid depression, sir. I mean doctor."

"I think you ought to leave the diagnosis and method of treatment to the experts Mr. Kent. Reading pop psychology articles do not qualify you to make that assessment. Why? Has Ms. Sullivan told you that she is depressed?" Dr. Hawkins' lips are pressed into a thin line as he looks over his glasses waiting for Clark's next faux pas.

"No. She did not sir." Clark licks his lips nervously, "I just think that Chloe would benefit from getting fresh air and she is not adversely disposed towards the suggestion."

"She gets to go out quite often as she has struck up a friendship with Bruce Wayne. As a matter of fact she has been out on a picnic with him the other day and she is scheduled to escort Bruce again this Saturday. I'm not a mean ogre, Mr. Kent but these constant interruptions are disrupting her from her program here at Belle Reve. This is a medical institution not a day spa or a hotel. As such she has a strict schedule that she needs to follow and support from friends who will promise to commit their time more consistently to assure her progress. I'd like to talk to Ms. Sullivan myself and if she's amenable to this jaunt, you may go out with her on the condition that she is back here at exactly 6 p.m. and that Nurse Owens accompanies you."

Dismayed at the fact that there was an imposed curfew and that Nurse Owens was elected to chaperone them, Clark opens his mouth to protest but Dr. Hawkins fixes him with a glare, "That will be all, Mr. Kent. Good day and send for Ms. Sullivan on your way out."

Clark exits Dr. Hawkins' office looking quite dazed and tells Chloe who was waiting outside that Dr. Hawkins wanted to see her. An hour later, Chloe and Clark was headed off to Crater Lake with a basket of goodies packed in the backseat of Clark's car – safely stowed beside Nurse Owens who was doing a crossword puzzle.

-----

The festive spread has long been laid out and depleted when Clark decided to stretch out to soak up the sun. His hands behind his head – a picture of tranquil serenity, with his eyes closed, his dark eyelashes casting a shadow on his face but a smile on his lips. Chloe gazes at him fondly which she does not allow herself to do if there was any chance that he would know. She still loves him. Probably, none of that would change but strangely enough, it was not the usual feelings that felt like she was drowning in a dark tar pit of despair. She settles in the same position as Clark with a few inches separating them. It was wise and prudent not to initiate contact at this point. They have talked briefly and though none of the issues that were raised in their last blow out was brought up, they were fairly content to be at peace for now. Chloe sighs contentedly, which prompts Clark to open his eyes and look at her, a deep longing for happier times echoed in his chest when he said, "Chlo, I wish we could be like this forever. I'm sorry for being an insensitive, idiotic ass."

Chloe then turns to face him, "I wish it could be like this forever too Clark but the past is long gone. I'm sorry too."

Then they fell silent again. Chloe closes her eyes while Clark watches her and listens to the slow and even beating of her heart. He was amazed and eternally grateful that he was given this chance to do that. The rhythmic beating of her heart skips a beat and Clark was worried, worried that she has asked for this time to talk to say that she can never ever see him again, worried that she might be in love with someone else, worried that it was because of him that there were times when she was in distress. Searching for a way to ask her, what's wrong and whether doing so would shatter this moment forever, he takes in a breath and was beat to the punch by Chloe, "Hey Clark, your son. What's his name?"

Clark blinks at this in surprise, "Jason."

"Do you get to see him often? What's your arrangement?"

"I don't get to see him as often as I do but I wish I did. Lois doesn't know about me and Superman yet so the situation is a bit more complicated than that. Plus there's Richard."

"Oh it must be difficult for you. I'm sorry about that. Do you still love her?"

"She's Jason's mother. I will always love her."

"Does she love you?"

"She loves Superman."

Clark couldn't help the sadness creep into his voice. Back when he was in high school, he sort of pictured that he would have a family like his parents had but being a grown up was more complicated than having to deal with superpowers apparently. A lot of things have changed since then. Lana loved Clark while he kept all of his superpowers under wraps which complicated things too much with the. So he thought that if people knew about his superpowers and that he could use them openly, that things would be a whole lot simpler. Lois loved Superman and he hid Clark underneath. The more freedom he had to be Superman, the more it felt like Clark was slipping away. Only with Chloe did he feel like he is whole. It saddened him that he wasn't able to see that before. May be if he had, he could've had a marriage like his mom and his dad had. But there was no use crying about the past. Here was a chance to rectify the future but this time he intends not to bungle it up. Chloe interrupts his reverie with a whisper, "Does Jason look like you?"

"Would you want to see him?"

"Uhm…we can't just ditch Nurse Owens and fly out to Metropolis, Clark. It would be dangerous."

"No I could show you a picture of him. I have one in my wallet."

"Oh." Chloe laughs softly and Clark was gratified to have elicited that sound from her. "I thought you were suggesting we jettison off like we used to on ClarkAir. Sure. Show me"

Clark takes his wallet out and wriggles a picture of Jason out from under the laminated plastic that was covering a section bulging with credit cards and a piece of worn out paper in his wallet riddled with watermarks. Successfully getting the picture out without damaging it, he wordlessly hands it to her.

"He looks just like you. Well his eyes but the smile is definitely Lois'. He's a beautiful boy. You must be so proud and happy."

"Yeah! I am. I wish though that I could be there for him more. You know take him out to ball games and little league practices. Drive him crazy with my poor sense of fashion and wise sagely advise. I'm afraid that I'm not as great a father as my dad was to me."

Chloe sits cross-legged and reaches out to hold Clark's hand. "I bet you can be if you're given more of an opportunity. I'm sure that you can still do that. You and Lois can work out a better plan."

"Yeah sure but can you imagine what little league would be like for Jason if his dad came in a Superman costume? Besides, that would put him, Lois, Richard and a host of other people in danger. I can't handle losing anymore of the people that matter, Chlo. I'm not strong enough for that. I wish you could meet him though. He deserves to know what a great aunt he has."

"You mean crazy aunt. I don't doubt that there'll be time for that in the future. I think Lois has to get used to the idea first that I'm alive and then we can bring in Jason into our little family dynamic. It would just be foolish to force things too soon. I miss Lo. I love her. I mean she's my only family now and it kills me that we are this way by choice when we used to be like sisters. But I'm willing to wait and rebuild what we had on her terms. We used to tell each other everything. The boys we liked and the boys who broke our hearts. What to wear. School. Dreams. Leaving. Kisses. Love. Death. Life. Not having my Mom around, Lois was there for me. Like right now, if we were talking we would be – well, never mind that now. She's not here and I have no one."

Clark was gazing intently upon Chloe as she broke off that sentence and started to pull up the weeds in front of her to mask her discomfort and hurt. Clark leans in forward this time covering her hands in his, "Chlo, stop torturing the poor weeds. Tell you what, if you want we could go this Saturday and talk to her. We could bring her to Crater Lake and just hang out like we used to. We can try to make her see sense in all of this."

Chloe smiles shyly, "I'd love to see her again. Yes. Let's do it. Let's – shoot! I can't this Saturday. I'm going out with Bruce."

Clark moves back a bit and looks down at the grass. He starts plucking them out by the handful and tried for a bit of nonchalance, "Oh. Well why don't you call him and cancel it?"

"I can't. I made a promise to be his date."

Clark nods distractedly at this. "Like a date _date_?"

"Yeah, I guess." Chloe furrows her eyebrows. "Well no not really. We're going to his ex-girlfriend's wedding. I can't leave him in the lurch like that."

"Oh."

Chloe huffs in frustration, "Oh? What is it? And will you stop denuding the periphery of Crater Lake. What did those poor weeds ever do to you?"

Clark shakes his head a bit and shrugs it off, "Oh nothing. I mean isn't he too old for you?"

Just then an uncharacteristic sound that seemed strangely like that of derision came from Chloe and Clark met her gaze, "Clark, I'm supposed to be your age remember? So technically he is only two years older than us. Are we going to be fighting about this?"

Clark quickly throws off a rejoinder, "No of course not." When actually what he wanted to say was that he didn't want her to go out with Bruce.

"Good because I'd like to think that we could be friends for more than a day without fighting."

Clark quips, "All great couples started fighting."

"Yeah says who and what crazy-assed Dr. Phil relationship claptrap have you subscribed to? I'm going out with Bruce because he's my friend as are you. And as you may already know, I never let my friends down. Of course this could be the first time." Chloe adds on dejectedly. "But you wouldn't want to talk about that though. It'll probably bore you."

"Try me."

"Well I don't have anything to wear."

"Don't tell me he is a cheapskate and didn't offer to buy you a dress?!"

"He did. He told me we could go to a boutique the day after he asked me so I could choose a dress but I, in an effort to assuage my foolish pride, turned him down."

"Why? Isn't that the topmost fantasy of all women to go shopping like Julia Roberts did in that movie, 'Pretty Woman', while an older and conveniently single man offers to pay for their purchases?" asks a bewildered Clark.

Chloe rolls her eyes at him in exasperation, "I swear, what's it with guys thinking that Pretty Woman is the key aspirational goal for most women. It isn't."

"Well okay it isn't. Would you want my help?"

"Thanks Clark but I'm not that desperate. I don't think a gown made of flannel will be suitable enough." Chloe scoffs at him.

"You make fun of flannel now but then it could come back in fashion. What I was proposing is that I could ask Lois if she could lend a lady friend of mine a dress for this date we will have on Saturday."

"Ugh! How pathetic would you want yourself to be in her eyes?! I wish I could just call her up and ask her myself directly. Then she could give me advice on how to fix myself up. I never knew how to do that. Lana always helped me with my make-up, would you know?"

"Okay, we really should expedite this make up mission with Lois. This is way out of my league. But then listen, you don't have to doll yourself up for THAT guy. He's a lothario – a preying mantis for women, regardless of age. I know I won't be able to stop you but I think you're beautiful as you are now and if he doesn't think so, just tell me and I'll knock some sense into him."

"Ah! I knew you'd be unable to hold off giving your judgment of Bruce. Fine. Beggars can't be choosy. So let's stop this conversation before we start World War III and you can choose to say whatever you want if you help me borrow a dress from someone you know? I mean nothing fancy. Something decent, simple and elegant." Seeing the blank stare that Clark was giving her, she continued to elaborate on it some more,"You know something you'd want someone, who you find attractive, could wear to an afternoon wedding. Oh and nothing in pink. Please Clark. Pretty please save me from going there in a corn sack and be the embarrassment of Smallville." Chloe tries to wheedle Clark back into good humor and Clark unable to deny her anything, promises to find Chloe the perfect dress by Friday even if it killed him that he was basically going to be looking for a smashing dress for Chloe who is about to go on a date with the charming Bruce Wayne.

-----

The day before, Clark has come to rescue before with a spectacular simple black dress for Chloe and a hastily scribbled note that read, "Enjoy but don't enjoy too much. Don't do anything you regret and remember that you are beautiful. – Clark". And so Saturday afternoon, after almost buckling under the trepidation of being introduced to the great Rachel Daws, Bruce proceeded to introduce the fetching young woman to about what seemed like half of the Gotham population. Chloe was just going back from the ladies room when she heard, the unmistakable voice of Bruce and Rachel in the cloak room.

"Really Bruce! They get younger and younger every time. When will you ever grow up?"

"I think I may have asked for you to help me out with that sometime back but you have completely rebuffed me."

"Which is just as well because you are a handful. She's perfectly lovely Bruce. Don't go corrupting her."

"It's not a question of my skill but the propensity for all of my previous dates to be corruptible. You give me far too much credit. Whatever has happened in the past with all those girls, can only be all your fault Rachel Daws. You have ruined me for other women."

With that Chloe has decided that she has heard enough. She was greatly disappointed in Bruce for baiting the bride on the day of her wedding but it just seems that the richer ones lived under moral ambiguities that she was not accustomed to. Unfortunate, really because if she stayed a bit longer, she would have heard a 3rd voice join in the conversation that opted to be quiet during the banter between his wife and his best friend.

"Come, come Wayne. She is Rachel Forsythe now. Really, do try to be more responsible with Chloe. She does seem precious and I must say will probably the one that could tame you in the end."

Rachel smiles benignly at Bruce before looking lovingly at her husband, "Yes dear. I agree with you wholeheartedly, as Bruce is just sitting there quite mute at our observation, I do have a feeling that you are quite right."

"Rachel. Eric. Mind your own bees wax and stop being such a smug married couple."

"Too late. Your silence has spoken volumes."

Laughing, three friends emerged from the rather large cloak room where they have all escaped the ogling of various people who watch whether a delicious scandal would erupt before the night's end between the groom, the bride and her equally handsome ex-boyfriend.

-------

It was halfway through the dancing that Chloe was reminded of the Spring Fling where the better part of the night was spent in looking for Clark. This time however, a missing billionaire at his ex-girlfriend's wedding only meant one of three things. One, he has been kidnapped and held hostage for ransom. Two, that his shameless flirting has gotten him nowhere and he was brooding somewhere away from the maddening crowd. Or three, his shameless flirting has worked and the matrimonial bed would be a bit more crowded then the groom would've liked. The prospect of that third option was less acceptable to Chloe at this point than even the first. If there was one thing she completely abhorred it is betrayal of someone else's trust and if that happened, Chloe doesn't think that they could still be friends after that discovery. Spotting him sitting melancholy at the edge of the pool in a secluded alcove, she heaves a sigh of relief and says, "Hey there loner. Didn't know the party was moved out here."

Bruce remains quiet and pensive as Chloe comes to sit beside him. She gives him a little nudge, "You know, it's okay to be sad. She is after all your ex-girlfriend. Probably the one love of your life and she's gone off to marry a great guy."

"Chloe, I'm fine." Bruce turns to look at her.

Scrunching her nose, she says "Hey that's my line."

"I'm not lying. I'm merely melancholy in a general and abstract manner which means I'm not sad in a specific way."

"Well then scooch over farther from the edge of the pool."

Bruce laughs hollowly, "I'm not going to jump. Like I said I'm not tearing my hair out because I'm distraught that Rachel and Eric are together. It is a bit too late for that. Weddings make me introspective and then melancholy. Then when I've had too many drinks, the morning after, remorseful as I wake up beside a half-naked bridesmaid in the same funk as was in, expecting me to give her a call the next day. And the day after that and the day after that. Ad infinitum."

"I'm not implying that I am concerned at you pining away right before my very eyes. My concern is about not getting my dress wet since I just borrowed this. Oh come on, stop staring broodily into the pool. Let's celebrate Rachel and Eric's good fortune then. Will you give me the honor of dancing with me Mr. Wayne?" She holds out her hand to him as the soft strains of Duncan Sheik singing "For You" wafts in through the open door of the alcove.

Bruce Wayne takes Chloe in his arms and marveled at how good it felt for her be in them. All that cliché about the world stopping was true. He was sad about Rachel but not as sad as he expected to be. What he told Chloe was in fact true which surprised him even more. It was increasingly becoming difficult to skirt around his feelings as of late – a phenomenon which was entirely new to him. He was in fact melancholy because he knows that Chloe was still in love with someone else. Before, in the past, when he took a fancy to someone, he would pursue her doggedly until she gave in. But as soon as the excitement of the chase is over, whatever feelings he thought he had also dissipated in the cold light of day. It was different with Chloe. She believed in him too much that it scared him to move. Afraid that if he did, she might shrink away and there would be that heavy painful void in the pit of his stomach. Bruce now understands Clark's predicament and why he has made the choices he had done in the past regarding Chloe.

As the music ended, the brown head rested lightly over the blonde one. Chloe then looks up at Bruce as her face inches closer. Closing her eyes, Bruce lowers his lips to meet her own. When they were just a breath apart, with supreme effort, he reins himself in and gently pushes her away, breathless Bruce speaks, "Chloe, we can't. How many flutes of champagne have you had?"

Chloe's eyes flutter open and she steps back, flustered and a bit flushed. "Five." Shaking her head as if to shake the cobwebs away, Bruce catches a glimpse of her eyes and the faintest flicker of pain, rejection, confusion and humiliation in them and at once rued the fact that he chose the worst time to be a gentleman. Chloe starts backing away from him, "You're …you're right. That was a good call Bruce. Very good call. I'll just go grab my purse. I left it in the den. It's been a long night."

At this, Bruce balls his fists in his side. His jaws were tight with tension. "Yes. I think it's time I took you home. Look Chloe," a plea could be made out with how he said her name, as if it was a Herculean effort to say it. Though he doesn't make a move to close the gap between them but the tremor in his voice stays Chloe to look back at him, "It's not that I didn't want to kiss you. I just think that kissing you should be special and that whoever you decide to kiss, you ought to be in a position where you could remember all the details and not regret it the morning after." She nods and leaves him. Tired and weary all of a sudden, Bruce lets out a straggled breath and sits hunched over in one of the concrete benches, head bowed, shoulders drooped and elbows resting on his knees, in an attitude of someone in silent prayer.

-------

**Excerpt from Future Chapters…**

Lex meets Clark on his way out of Belle Reve…

"Clark, I can see that one last strong tie to the past has successfully brought us together. Curious isn't it how Chloe manages to be always at the center around which we orbit."

Anxious at seeing Lex in Belle Reve, Clark was impatient to see Chloe and find out whether Lex was stupid enough to try anything crazy but not before getting a rise out of his former best friend, "Coming back to tie the loose strings that your incompetent henchman left hanging? What do you want from her Lex? If you so much as laid a hand on her, I swear…"

Lex cuts him off, "Save it, Boy Scout. I came here to enlist your help. She is not safe from Bruce Wayne. Do try to save her for once and not fail this time." As they stand there face to face, Lex seems almost sincere. His cold grey eyes retained some shadow of his former self as he said this and for once Clark almost believed him after all these years of the damaging secrets and lies that ate away at their friendship.

But then just like that, the moment was gone and where he stood, Clark saw the hard set face of his nemesis of ten years slide back into place once again. But what he said remained. Was Chloe in danger from knowing Bruce Wayne? Would Lex even bother if it were not true? In some strange way, there was a time when Lex was protective of Chloe and it could possibly be true this time as well. Of everyone, it was Chloe who could always tell Lex the truth and so became a credible moral compass who egged him to become a better person, with or without his blessing. But for now, he had to see Chloe even if there is still that possibility that she will have him ejected unceremoniously out of Belle Reve.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Summary: Chloe is returned ten years after she was abducted during Dark Thursday. Probably Chlark / Chruce. Set Post-Freak. Connecting events as told in the movie Superman Returns.

Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville, Superman or Batman

**Author's Note**: Really sorry for the delay. Appreciate all those who wrote, gave feedback and followed up on this story. It took me longer to post because there was my work and then after that for some reason, I got scared of writing and posting the next two chapters. But as they say, fortune favors the brave and so I'm trying to be brave and hope that you would do me the favor of continuing to read and being passionate about this story. I'm starting to sense though that it is about to wrap up and I do have the final chapter more or less written out. This will definitely be done on or before Christmas.

* * *

The ride back to Belle Reve seemed longer than normal. Bruce Wayne stared unseeing out of the limousine, plagued by visions of the more recent events of the evening. Every detail accompanying that near-kiss in the pool house, no matter how big or small, seemed heightened and seared into his brain. How Chloe's lips seemed to be so maddeningly close and he had to pick the worst time to grow a conscience when he pushed her away while the crisp night air sent the azaleas decorating the pool house swaying. How after taking leave of the newlyweds, they proceeded to the limo where Alfred was waiting, wearing a stiff black suit that reminded him of the clothes that his father was buried in except that on Alfred it also made him look severe and disapproving. Though, he knew that there was no way Alfred could've known what has just transpired between him and Chloe and so it could just be his perception. Then again, from the time that he was a child to becoming a man, Alfred had always had a knack for sounding out any incursion on his part. So maybe he already knew. Except that this time, he thought that he did the right thing. Or did he really? If he did, then why does it feel like he did the opposite?

Chloe had seated herself far from him, not saying anything. The silence was thick enough to give each an idea of things left unsaid. Once or twice during the ride, Chloe hazarded a glance at Bruce when she thought that he would not be looking. One time, Bruce had caught her looking at him and so she gave him a sad smile before proceeding to her watch of the passing buildings and landmarks. She dared not look back at him for the remainder of the ride after that.

Upon reaching Belle Reve, Chloe gathers her wrap from the space between her and Bruce while reaching for her purse which ended up on the floor. At the same time Bruce had reached for it as well and her small hands accidentally covered his. As if stung, Chloe hastily pulls back and instead gathers her wrap around herself. Before she could protest and bolt out of the car into the sanctuary of the Belle Reve entrance without having to exchange a word with him, Bruce had already descended the car and was at her side of the door. As he handed her out of the car, he gives her the purse back, a sentence wrestling to break free from his lips, desperate to make things right before she leaves, "Look Chlo…I …"

Chloe waves her hand dismissively and gave him the same sad smile she gave him in the limo, "Bruce. It's fine. Stop! Don't make it any more awkward than it is. It was temporary insanity. All of it from my end.' Trying for levity to mask her embarrassment, Chloe chuckles," Hey! Just goes to show that five glasses is my limit. Thanks for the ride and for this night. It's been so long since I've been somewhere that required dressing up like a princess. I had a great time, really. It was perfect – well, almost perfect if you could just forget that last part in the pool house." Not waiting for him to say anything, she nods her goodbye to Alfred and quickly takes the steps up to Belle Reve as if she could not get inside any quicker than she would have wanted to.

Bruce watched her retreating form disappear into the shadows of an unlit Belle Reve, he was brought back to the present with a soft clearing of the throat in the background, "Master Bruce?"

With difficulty he peels his eyes from where Chloe disappeared and dropped his gaze onto the ground. A heavy sigh escapes him unknowingly and the old man had taken in all this. Assuming a tone of voice that Bruce had not heard since he opted to disappear from Gotham before discovering his Batman persona, Alfred was careful to phrase the warning that he was going to say next. The trusted butler was worried that his master has taken his predilection for female companionship too far, thus feeling it incumbent upon him to remind Bruce of the value of chivalry even in this modern day and age, he intones, "Master Bruce, Chloe is a special lady. I am sure that you are aware of it."

Bruce turns to stare at Alfred with one raised eyebrow, the irony not lost on him, "Yes I am Alfred and that would explain the situation I now find myself in."

"Which is what sir?" Catching himself, painfully aware that he has overstepped his bounds, Alfred shakes his head, "I'm sorry Master Bruce. I've forgotten myself."

"No Alfred! It is I, who has forgotten for a long while." Bruce jams his hands into his pockets and looks back at Belle Reve before continuing, "I wish father was here. If they hadn't died, I may have made something of myself. Made myself more deserving of her."

"Who's to say you're not? I've known you since you were a small boy Master Bruce and your father and mother would be proud of how you turned out. No one I know who has all of these resources at their disposal would use their influence responsibly to keep their fellow man safe. Granted that your methods could be just a smidge questionable but the ends have been achieved to some degree."

Bruce Wayne claps Alfred on his shoulder and pauses before re-entering the limousine, "I have never figured you to be a follower of Machiavelli. But you and I both know that people like me, who have traipsed in the dark for far too long become tainted by it. In turn everything I touch is swallowed whole by it, changed beyond recognition." Painful resignation marring his handsome features, Bruce's eyes are averted from Alfred as he continues, "The truth is I…I lo…I care for her deeply and Chloe deserves to be happy and even if I were to wash my sins clean, I cannot hope to deserve her in this lifetime."

* * *

The sun bathed the view outside of Chloe's window at Belle Reve with a freshness that seemed to have washed everything new. Chloe stretches and rises out of bed languidly – slowly making her way to the window. For a while, she could pretend that she was at Met U and that the scenery outside was full of loitering students and not patients out to get their daily morning exercise. At this, Chloe smiles in perfect contentment at the memory, the events of last night seemingly forgotten until she turns around and sees the dress she wore folded neatly on a nearby chair. As flashes of what happened washed over her, the sun seemed to mock her with its cheer and Chloe threw herself on the bed face down with a groan. It was at this point when she heard a soft rapping on the door, "Ms. Sullivan, this is Dr. Hawkins, may I come in?"

Not wanting to worry Dr. Hawkins, Chloe schools her face into a tired but false gaiety as she made her way to let the doctor in. "Hey Doc! What's up?"

The good doctor narrows his eyes and peers quizzically at her face, "I have checked with Nurse Owens and found out that you had quite a late night last night. I was expecting that you'd be tired from all that partying and would opt to stay in today. So, I have taken the liberty to turn down requests from two young men who would want to visit you. Really, I'm sure that you would think that I'm being unnecessarily strict but I do feel that as your attending physician, I should keep you focused on your goal."

"Which is to prove to everyone that I'm not crazy?"

"This cheekiness does not suit you, Ms. Sullivan. If you must know, I have inquired about out-patient stay and treatment for you but this requires you should be consigned to a guardian who would keep track of your progress or more like keep you in line." At this point, Dr. Hawkins squirms uncomfortably, "As I think that consigning you to either Mr. Wayne or Mr. Kent would be inappropriate and as your next nearest kin, a Ms. Lane has decided to not come forward, I have elected to be your guardian. That is if you would want to be under the care of a crusty old man who would enforce certain rules and regulations about school and entertaining charming young men."

Chloe was speechless at this. She had longed to get out of Belle Reve and that there was something about Dr. Hawkins which reminded him of her father. Tears form in her eyes and Dr. Hawkins take her silence as a signal that she was not as enthused with his proposal as he was and initially thought that she'd be. So hastily backtracking, he fumbles on, "Well, you don't have to decide now and if you would rather be consigned to the care of someone else, I think I could arrange that…I mean I know how a cantankerous curmudgeon like me can be very tedious, it's just that," Dr. Hawkins pauses and his normally clipped tones are soft when he continues, "At my age you are everything that I imagined my daughter would be if I had enough sense to..." Surprising himself with that disclosure, he leaves the sentence unfinished.

Chloe rouses herself from the shock of this surprise and launches herself at Dr. Hawkins, "Oh yes! Yes! You are not tedious at all but sweet and crusty and my very own Daddy Warbucks. You could dye my hair red, curl it and call me Annie. Yes, I would like it very much." Genuine happiness shining through her eyes this time and proving contagious as the same emotion is mirrored in Dr. Hawkins' face.

"Well, I guess that's settled then. I'll try to bring it up at the next Board meeting which could take a couple of months but I'm sure it would all work out. You can continue your studies once you're out of Belle Reve if you want and in the summer we could travel together to England so that you could meet my relatives in Warwickshire. I do think we would get on capitally. I do imagine that you will endeavor to be a pain and roll your eyes at me when I'm being an old fogy. For my part, I'll try not to scare away all the young men that would come for you but I couldn't promise that for sure."

"Thanks Dr. Hawkins! You don't know what it means to me…I haven't had such a family for so long that I've given up hope of ever…" Chloe's voice breaks at this as she visits dim memories of the few times she had a family to speak of, with a father and a mother. Of times long past when thoughts of not having them forever is just a distant but academic concept.

"You don't know what it means to me either…For starters, you don't belong here Chloe. You may have woken you up in this place but I too woke up when you did. You showed me what I could have had in my youth, if I weren't so damn one-tracked."

"What do you mean?"

Dr. Hawkins pulls up a chair and fixates on a point behind Chloe before finishing, "Though, it may change what you think of me but I have things in my past which I think you should hear. If you do change your mind after hearing it then I understand."

Chloe nods encouragingly for Dr. Hawkins to continue, "Back when I was practicing in England, I was engaged to be married to Charlotte. She was well off and our family was not. With all the false sense of duty and pride, I worked hard to be able to build up a life that we both could share when we got married – the kind of life that she was used to under her father's house. However, too many nights and too many days I have neglected her. It was a couple of weeks before our wedding when she met my cousin Robert, who knew how to flatter her and say the words that I never bothered to say. She eloped with him and they had a child – a child that if I were not a fool could have been mine. Instead I was too busy building a massive house, a lifestyle, a general idea of existence and I lived it and in it empty and bitter. Robert and Charlotte died of tuberculosis and I was so wracked with guilt that I adopted their child, a daughter that would have been your age now. But I was ill-prepared to be a father then and I had pushed her away just like I pushed her mother away. She got into a group of lads of the fast set and once on their way to Morocco, they had an accident. I lost her and ever since then I had buried the hopes of having a family and have been of the firm belief that I was destined to be alone for the rest of my life. Not that I'm sure you would suffer to be adopted by me after all you are coming of age but until such time, for however brief, I have dusted off my dreams once again."

Despite, being touched by Dr. Hawkins story, Chloe cannot help but take the mickey out of the good doctor, "So does this mean that you, me and Nurse Jenkins are going to be a family?"

Dr. Hawkins makes a wry face at the mention of Nurse Jenkins but notes the tears of joy threatening to fall from Chloe's eyes, "Whatever you want. I have to go or Anita may just thrash my office if I'm late for our therapy sessions."

"Wait. So these two young men? Was it Clark and Bruce?" Her curiosity piqued at whether Bruce would have the temerity to visit her so soon after their awkward non-kiss.

"No. I believe it was Mr. Kent and a new young man, Mr. Luthor. I'll see you later and we'll go over the progress of your sessions with Dr. Watts."

A shadow of worry flickered through Chloe's eyes at the mention that Lex Luthor was asking to visit her but was quick to hide it lest Dr. Hawkins would pick it out. She nods absent-mindedly and schedules for their review before dinner.

* * *

Crater Lake was absolutely gorgeous that time of the year and the picnic was a well deserved break from the monotony of Belle Reve. After having had quite a feast, Clark grumbles at Chloe about the newly enforced moratorium on outside trips for Belle Reve patients. According to Clark's estimation, it has been 8 days, 3 hours and 4 minutes since they last had a chance to go out or meet. Not that Clark was counting of course. His only consolation was that it seemed that Bruce Wayne was either making himself scarce or not as lucky in getting permission to take Chloe out as well. It was only after hounding Dr. Hawkins for a good two days straight that he finally relented to a picnic at Crater Lake and it was only because Chloe was getting antsy for being cooped up so long.

"Geez, what's with the third degree Chlo? Getting Dr. Hawkins to write out a day pass for you feels even worse when I had to ask my Dad to let me borrow the truck."

"Well if I were you, I'd try to get myself on his good side because he'll have a lot more say about when I can go and who I go out with in a couple of months or so."

Alarm bells went off in Clark's head and thus asks suspiciously, "And why is that?" Although, Clark already suspects that Bruce may have an indirect hand as to the undue increase in restrictions surrounding Chloe.

Chloe mysteriously replies, "Nothing really. I'll tell you when it's final."

"Hey no fair! I told you my secret."

Chloe swats at an invisible fly in irritation, "Geez Clark. I never realized that traveling back in time was one of your superpowers? So are we suddenly back in 8th grade?! Besides, I'd like to point out that I found out about your secret from Alicia Baker."

"Well yeah but I did tell you that I was an intergalactic space traveler. You only supposed that I was infected by the meteor rocks so I did tell you my secret. Technically."

Chloe shakes her head, half contemplating on breaking the news to Clark about out-patient treatments and having Dr. Hawkins as her guardian but decides against it, "No. I'm not telling you anything. You'll just have to find out when it will happen for sure."

Not wanting to get Chloe into a snit, Clark prudently chose to take the conversation elsewhere albeit his next choice of topic was equally worse, "So if you don't want to talk about that, then let's talk about your date with the great Bruce Wayne."

"There's nothing to tell and it isn't a date. I merely accompanied him"

Clark scoffs at this revelation and continues to press for more information, unable to hide the jealousy in his voice "Accompany is when you go with your mother or your grandmother to the grocery. It seemed more like a date to me. Something tells me that something happened that night and you don't want to talk about that either."

"I never realized what an uncommonly nosy intergalactic busybody you turned out to be. How would you like it if I asked you about Lois and your sex life?"

Clark's eyes pops at the insinuation of that question, "WHAT?! Did you and he? Did... he force himself on … Did he hurt you?" Not knowing how to finish any of those sentences but he figured that there would be a gory bloodbath at Justice League headquarters later if he finds out that Bruce has even touched a hair on Chloe's head. Unknowingly, he was growling under his breath quite audibly enough for Chloe to overhear, "I'm going to kill him!" Crater Lake starts to bubble up with steam and Chloe realizes that Clark was taking it out on the poor marine life with his heat vision.

"Hey relax Sherlock! Not only do you leap tall buildings in a single bound, I must admit that you do take absurdly bigger leaps of logic. Nothing happened. He picked me up. We went to the ceremony and the reception. Ate off a $ 1,000 a plate dinner reception and then went back home but not before we nearly kissed." Chloe prattled off.

"He kissed you?! Why I ought to….what is he thinking?!"

"No he did not. He pulled away and I don't know what to make of it."

"So would you want him to kiss you?!" the unmistaken note of incredulity at this innocuous revelation creeping into his voice.

Chloe shoots back, flustered and unprepared. Her usual tack of reigning in what she thinks spilling out in a jumbled heap, "Yes. No. Maybe. I'm not even sure why I'm upset about this!" Her brows furrowed and confusion marring her face. Defeated by the nights spent of tossing and turning on this one idea she rambles on, "Maybe it's just my pride. After all, everyone says he would chase anything or anyone wearing a skirt. So you can imagine that his rejection pretty much annihilated what's left of my self-esteem. Apparently good guys wouldn't classify me as the kind of girl they'd bring home to mom, I'm not even the kind of girl they'd think of making out under the high school bleachers or their ex-girlfriend's pool house! I hate it. I hate him! I hate the fact that I'm bothered by all of this pre-pubescent, high school melodrama. He should've kissed me and gotten it over with. Why? Am I that, oh I don't know, unappealing!? I mean he probably finds me positively repulsive compared to the trail of women that he had encounters with between the ages of 15 to 55 from here to Gotham!"

Wanting to look away and yet mesmerized by her angry burst of energy palpable and crackling in the air, he peels his gaze from her to focus on a random point in the horizon. It takes all of Clark's will not to take her by the shoulders and give her what Bruce Wayne denied. He realizes though that it wasn't the time and not knowing where he stands with her, Clark is scared of stepping on a landmine from one clumsy misstep. But it isn't that what scares him the most. What scares him and at the same time chips at his heart one piece at a time is that she may not realize it but he isn't strong enough to survive kissing Chloe while he imagines her imagining him to be someone else. Ironic when people perceive him as invulnerable. Normally that would have been true but his strength is only skin deep when it comes to her. Finally as her tirade starts to die down, he brings himself back to the present. Despite himself, he gives her a look that says everything he dared not utter out loud, intoning seriously, "Because Bruce Wayne is smart enough to realize that you are not just anyone, Chlo."

At this Chloe breaks out into a huge smile -- the kind of smile that made him feel like the sun rose specifically for him. Chloe nudges Clark and brightly quips, "Thanks Clark for putting it that way! You're such a good friend."

Inching closer to Clark, she lays her head on his shoulder. She gives a soft sigh as they watch the sun set leaving interesting patterns of oranges and red across the fallen leaves littering Crater Lake's landscape. At the word "friend", it felt like that the sun hid behind a cloud and another chunk of Clark's heart has been chipped away. Clark wonders when he would run out of these pieces of him that dies every time Chloe seems to be inching farther and farther away where he could not reach her

So before he knew what he was doing, he lets out a quiet breath of pain and trepidation, "Chloe, how did you do it?"

A lazy smile of contentment softens her raised eyebrow, her voice coming out in a whisper, "Do what Clark?"

"Listen to me talk about Lana all those years while your heart was breaking into a million pieces."

Chloe's head shoots up at this and faces him, "What do you mean?"

Mentally, smacking his forehead with his hand and muttering "idiot" under his breath, he decides to handle this development the same way he always had even if it slowly killed him in the process, "Nothing. It's nothing. Go on. So why don't you tell me what happened to the rest of your night before the non-kiss."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Summary: Chloe is returned ten years after she was abducted during Dark Thursday. Probably Chlark / Chruce. Set Post-Freak. Connecting events as told in the movie Superman Returns.

Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville, Superman or Batman

* * *

Alfred Pennyworth was rarely worried and never anxious. The older man basked with pride in the fact that he has always been able to mask the myriad of emotions that accompany being a trusted servant of the esteemed Wayne family – from Bruce's grandfather, Richard, to his father Thomas to the young Bruce. Granted though, that none of Bruce's predecessor made a habit of ridding Gotham of criminal elements dressed like a nocturnal rodent, armed with nothing more but technology and the hubris of youth masquerading as daring. Batman was still nothing more but a pseudo super-human attempting to do extraordinary feats but a human nevertheless. A human who can become fatigued or broken or dead. And so it is only through a pretend façade of bravado can he be partner to and knowingly send out this only remaining Wayne into the world to combat evil. This last remaining Wayne who was like a son to him; though he never really told Bruce because such sentimentality should never be exhibited by any respectable butler or valet. Except that ever since the Daws wedding, Bruce has gone back to becoming withdrawn, morose and brooding. The difference this time is that he goes out and returns only when the sun has risen, bone tired, half dead or hurt. As if by doing so, he is purging himself of something that he has almost admitted to that night when Chloe ran into Belle Reve.

Determined to draw out what has happened that night, Alfred stays up and waits in the Bat cave for Bruce's return. It is now past seven in the morning and Batman has never been out this late in the day. So Alfred continues to sit at the control room with a hot cup of tea, pinpricks of anxiety which he only acknowledges to be deep concern at the delay of his master's return running up and down his spine. It has been a week since the Daws wedding and they have not been to visit Chloe once. Aiming to take the young Wayne's mind from this obvious path of self-destruction, he means to propose a visit to Bell Reve today after Bruce has gotten some rest and make them work out whatever it was that had Bruce acting like he did not care at all what happened to him.

Hearing the entrance to the cave open and the rumble of the behemoth vehicle that Bruce drives, he goes out of the control room to meet the errant young man and berate him for causing him to stay up waiting which he is certain is not good for someone his age. He stands at the door of the docking station, tapping his foot impatiently. The roof of the vehicle opens and the one they call Superman climbs out.

"Alfred is it? Bruce… Batman is hurt. I couldn't bring him here sooner because we've been ambushed and I couldn't just leave the Bat mobile where they could find it." Superman carries out an unconscious Bruce. At Alfred's silent questioning, he further elaborates, "He got a full dose of this nerve gas that LuthorCorp was testing. Green Arrow will be here shortly with the antidote which he needed to retrieve from Dr. Lucius Fox of Wayne Technologies." As he was saying this, Superman was gently laying down Bruce on a couch and hoping for Chloe's sake that Bruce will be okay.

As if on cue, Bruce comes to and rolls to his side, gasping for air and dry heaving in between spasms of coughing fits that is rocking his entire body. After what seemed like a stretch of labored breathing, Bruce finally quiets down and passes out again. "Bruce! Stay with me. Focus!" Superman barks this order. All of a sudden Bruce sits up, this time vomiting palm-sized spots of thickened blood. Superman supports Batman in a sitting position, concern creeping into his voice, "Oliver's coming Bruce. Just hang in there." Bruce nods weakly and props himself up.

Barely above a whisper, Bruce struggles to get out his request, "Mask. Take off. Can't breathe." Alfred galvanized into action removes Batman's mask revealing a pale Bruce Wayne. Recovering a bit after having been divested of his constricting mask, some color returns to his face.

Noting the humor of the situation brought on by being saved by Clark Kent who clearly wanted to throttle him and Alfred's slipping mask of sang-froid, he laughs shakily, "Relax Alfred. You won't have to look for employment just yet. Well, I may just make it today if Oliver figures out the security code for the Wayne laboratories anytime within this lifetime." Wincing with pain, he bites his lower lip and mutters through his teeth, "What the deuce is taking Oliver so long? My lungs are burning." Clutching at his side as another spasm of coughing and labored breathing seizes him.

At this Alfred moves to the communication center to contact the Green Arrow, leaving the two men alone. Superman rakes a hand through his hair and exhales loudly.

Bruce noting the uncomfortable tension decides to address the pacing Kryptonian, "Look, I know we've had our differences and I know that when I told you that I love Chloe that you'd rather wish me dead, but thanks. Thanks for still having my back and bringing me here."

Clark looks at Bruce grudgingly and shakes his head, "I don't wish you dead and whatever differences we've had. However, wrong I think you are for Chloe or that neither you nor I deserve her, if you are to find yourself in that situation again, I will save you. Because, I believe that we can't choose who we save. I am not God."

After another stretch of uncomfortable silence, Bruce nods solemnly, "I'm sorry. Can you please tell her that?"

"Tell her yourself. I think she'd rather hear it from you directly. Whatever it is you've done. That's between you and her and though my entire being will rebel at the idea of letting you near her again, as you said, there should be honor between two people who love her. So in all honesty, it's taking all of my willpower right now not to bash your face in because whatever you've done, haven't done, said or didn't say to her, hurt her"

"I…uh…we…."

Cutting him off, "Look Bruce! I don't need to hear it."

"Judging from the stricken look on your face, I do think that you need to hear this. Whatever you may think, nothing happened between us. We nearly kissed. But I pulled away because Chloe's special and I just think that I'd only be taking advantage of her if I allowed it to happen. I want our kiss to mean something to her."

Clark's breath hitched at this revelation – apparently from what Bruce said, he inferred that it was Chloe who moved in for the kiss first, Clark was determined to do right by his friend even as he struggles with the unbearable pain, "Chloe is a beautiful person. Sometimes, she doesn't know how breath-takingly beautiful she is and that's because of me. I must have done a number on her in high school by acting beastly and being blind all those years. So, whatever happened between you two, it's my fault. When you pulled away, it brought back all her fears and it was high school being played out all over again. Just, try to explain it to her. She may just shrug it off but Chloe's not the kind of girl who would just kiss some random guy arbitrarily."

A brief flame of hope suffused Bruce's face at this, "What are you trying to say?"

"Just don't fall into the same tar pit of stupidity that I have fallen in. Talk to her." Clark was struggling under the crushing weight of the idea that he has just set the wheels in motion for Bruce and Chloe to work things out which effectively dims any possibility of having a future with her, of being loved back. As he ponders on this being the most difficult thing he has had to do so far, he wonders how many times can his heart break into a million pieces and how many times can he plug the holes that's left by each missing piece before he finds that he can't do it anymore. Feeling the unbearable need to escape from the same room where Bruce was, his voice hoarse and brusque he took his leave to wait for their fellow Justice league member outside until the arrival of the antidote which they have administered barely in the nick of time.

For several nights thereafter, it was Superman keeping the streets of Gotham safe and shuttling to and from Metropolis in super speed, not resting or stopping even for a bit up as if by running, he is driven by a need to outstrip and leave his pain behind him.

* * *

It was two weeks more before Clark was able to go back to Belle Reve and visit Chloe. Just barely an hour ago, he was nursing a gun-shot wound that managed to graze his skin because the bullet's tip was made of Kryptonite that left him still sore. However, he did not want to delay seeing Chloe any longer, Clark gingerly sits down at the visitor's lounge waiting for Chloe to come out. While waiting, he has been trying to make sense of the unsuccessful attempts by the Justice League to shut down 33.1 laboratories recently. It seemed like Lex somehow knew what their plan was and more worrying still, the secrets and weaknesses of key members of the Justice League. First there was Bruce and the use of gas because his suit is made entirely of Kevlar. And then just a couple of days ago it was Oliver. Stranger still that his most recent encounter with Kryptonite was when he opened a package sent to Clark Kent at the Kent Farm containing the meteor rocks as if whoever sent it also knew his secret. May be later in the evening, he will fly back to his icy fortress and consult with Jor-el because of late the Kryptonite-aided wounds he has received take longer to heal. As he was turning these thoughts over in his head, he notices a familiar form, clad in trademark royal purple making his way out of the Belle Reve wards. Probably feeling that he was being observed, the man turned around to survey the visitors' lounge and picked up Clark's unmistakable figure.

Clark stands up and balls his fist at his side as this visitor makes his way in measured and even steps to where he was. Upon reaching him, the new arrival imitates his stance while the nurses and the few people there looked on noting the simmering hostility and distrust from both men.

"Clark, I can see that one last strong tie to the past has successfully brought us together. Curious isn't it how Chloe manages to be always at the center around which we orbit."

Anxious at seeing Lex in Belle Reve, Clark was impatient to see Chloe and find out whether Lex was stupid enough to try anything crazy but not before getting a rise out of his former best friend, "Coming back to tie the loose strings that your incompetent henchman left hanging? What do you want from her Lex? If you so much as laid a hand on her, I swear…"

Lex cuts him off, "Save it, Boy Scout." Clark picks up on Lex's use of the moniker Oliver has given him in the early days of the Justice League, "I came here to warn you and enlist your help. Chloe is not safe from Bruce Wayne. Do try to save her for once and not fail this time." As they stand there face to face, Lex seems almost sincere. His cold grey eyes retained some shadow of his former self as he said this and for once Clark almost believed him after all these years of the damaging secrets and lies that ate away at their friendship.

But then just like that, the moment was gone and where he stood, Clark saw the hard set face of his nemesis of ten years slide back into place once again. But what he said remained. Was Chloe in danger from knowing Bruce Wayne? Would Lex even bother if it were not true? In some strange way, there was a time when Lex was protective of Chloe and it could possibly be true this time as well. Of everyone, it was Chloe who could always tell Lex the truth and so became a credible moral compass who egged him to become a better person, with or without his blessing. But for now, a compelling desire to find out whether Chloe was safe drove him to super speed into her room regardless of whether Dr. Hawkins will unceremoniously turn him out for breaching hospital protocol and rules.

**

* * *

****EXCERPT FROM FUTURE CHAPTERS**

Lex's abject dejection and self-loathing worries Chloe. And as he sits there with his head in his hands, he croaks out like the broken man that he is, "Chloe I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?"

"Sorry that you're caught in the middle of this."

"Then walk away. You don't have to do this." Chloe mourns for Lex as she sees him struggle with his conscience. She mourns for Lex and the man that he could've been. All those years of neglect and abuse has created a prison that the young man cannot scale. As Chloe watches the man that Lex has become, she sees the young boy who is up until now, even with his father long dead, desperately trying to win the approval he has pursued for so long but will never have.

"I can't. I'm in too deep. Just remember that this isn't about you. It was all the choices you made. This is who I am and I can't stop that. Save yourself. Just tell me who he is?"

Noting the despair and frustration in his voice, Chloe cautiously approaches Lex and lays her hand softly on his arm, "No one is born to be evil or good. I was hoping that you'd have come to realize by now that who you are, who you have become is a series of choices like I made mine. I've made a promise and I can't tell you. Lex, you can still be someone else. Walk away and let it go." Feeling like she has said all that she could, Chloe withdraws her hand and leaves Lex silently weeping.

Just as she has reached the door, Lex calls out, "Chloe just whatever happens, promise me that you'll stay away from Metropolis tomorrow and that you'd ask the one person you love to stay away too. At least with that I do hope that you'd think better of me."

"I always do. Just remember that I will never give up on you. I know that you'll come to the right choice." With that Chloe closes the door behind her.

**

* * *

****EXCERPT FROM THE 2****ND**** TO THE LAST CHAPTER**

Chloe notices a letter addressed to her on her drawer and she somehow knew that it was a letter to say goodbye. With trembling hands, she opened it and her eyes traced each word hungrily, barely able to see as tears blurred her vision.

"_Dear Chloe,_

_I'm writing all this down because if I don't, you'll beat the life out of what I have to say with your damned but ill-placed sense of nobility. And they say I'm the hero! Well even heroes need someone to save them and you're my savior. I just want to say that you can stop saving me and let me save you because believe it or not, I could take care of myself. I'm guessing you know by now that I'm not sticking to our plan and that whatever happens, this will definitely change the outcome for one of us. Only I do hope that it changes for the better for you because this is the only way I know how. I've always been a precocious child and I've always known that not everyone can have their happy ending but I should at least try to make sure that you have that…_"


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11 **

Clark was acting strange even for himself. He nearly tore the door off its hinge after bumping into Lex at the hallway. Seeing her standing in the middle of the room, Clark lets out a breath he didn't even know he was holding in, "Chloe." And unable to help himself strode over to where she stood, just engulfing her in an embrace that said a lot about his current state.

Patting his back awkwardly and thinking that a crowbar would not even be enough to pry him off. "Uh, Clark? I missed you too since it's been a staggering 2 weeks from our last conversation. But if this is what it's like to not see you after 2 weeks, well I have to remind myself not to disappear for a decade again. Can't. Breathe. Need. Air." As is her normal way of taking control of a potential landmine, Chloe attempted at that joke knowing that Clark was using all of his restraint not to crush every bone in her body but still wanting to hold on tightly.

He resists the urge to turn her around and see for himself if she was hurt. Any slight bruise, nick or cut would have spelled disaster for the purple-clad Luthor. Looking her over for any clue as to what transpired, "You okay Chlo?"

"Uh yeah. But I can't say the same about my door. Now that would make changing clothes difficult which sucks for me but is great for the new orderly they hired. I think that he's hot in that medical healthcare way but he's only 20 and that's much too young for me."

Flustered and unable to back out of the impending conversation that they would be having, he mumbles, "Sorry Chlo." Clark goes back to the doorway and looks out the hallway ascertaining that it was empty before he "repairs" the door with his vision.

"Wow. I know I may have seen that in the past probably a couple of times but it never ceases to amaze me. My very own personal handyman." Smiling in that way of hers that completely blinds him and leaves him thinking that he'd repair a million kryptonite doors the normal way even just so he could get her to smile at him like that a lot longer. Somehow, thinking that he's running out of time and those smiles would soon be lighting up a certain brooding nocturnal "rodent" he knows.

Self-conscious under his gaze, she goes back to her closet and takes out the dress that Clark borrowed for her. "Here. I know you had better things to do than looking for clothes for me and listening to me rant about Bruce but I forgot to return it to you the last time. Thanks! Who knew I would be dressed by Clark Kent someday? He jumps buildings in a single bound, flies like a bird, saves people and brings couture to best friends who need them. What can you not do?"

At that rhetorical question, Clark thought to himself. _Turn back time and make you love me._

Not used to this quiet and introspective side of him, Chloe continues to babble on, "So I met your friend Lex and -- ."

"Stay away from him, Chlo." Sounding more abrupt and territorial than he wanted to.

"Excuse me!? Why don't you just pee around me so that he's driven away next time? Way to be territorial Clark and probably the worst thing to say to me now. Don't you realize that, I've never listened to you when you say that?"

"I mean it Chlo. He's...he's changed. He hasn't been my friend since you disappeared. Even before that. Back when we were in high school, I think you were the one to tell me not to trust him."

This perplexed her. Of all the memories she has lost, she has lost memories of Lex the most. Clark and Lex used to be thick as thieves. "Hello...in a coma for the last decade. I'm missing some key memories here Clark so care to enlighten me about your falling out with your BFF. I mean your bromance with him even made Pete jealous. So what happened? Must be something epic. A woman perhaps? Envy at your head full of hair? What? Pretty please, pray do tell. I need some distraction from the Dawson's Creek storyline that this thing with Bruce has taken."

Clark was about to open his mouth to explain when he cocks his ears to one side. "Just trust me Chlo. I have to go – boy scout duties. I'll explain next time." And just like that he was gone again.

***

Rupert Hawkins was a man of science and lived each moment ruled by it. 525,600 minutes of logic and science for the entire 5 and a half decades of his existence. So enamoured by it that he chose neuro-psychology as his profession, consumed by understanding how the mind has hard-wired itself towards exhibiting the compulsion of its own motivation which oddly enough is the same regardless of nationality, race, age or religion. A discovery of what that is being is worthy of a Nobel Peace Prize – to bottle that motivation and sell it so that there is no longer sadness, misunderstanding, missed chances, lost opportunities or desperate isolation.

His search has taken him years and now in the twilight of his career, he has realized that his obsession for this discovery has resulted to a time when he nearly missed the point entirely – behaviour is a compulsion from the obsession to love and be loved and to finally belong. Being raised in a family of middle-class intellectual malcontents and of the typical sangfroid that came with such an environment did not help. Every vestige of strong emotion or attachment swept under a rug of irony, sarcasm and the characteristic stiff upper lip and starched white collar of his heritage. Just then, looking at the adoption papers for Chloe and the dossier of supplementary documentation needed to finalize the arrangements for which he has travelled 10 hours to his native Warwickshire, Rupert Hawkins for the 1st time was not driven by his obsession for scientific discovery. He can finally stop looking and just be. He has a family – however late or odd it may seem. And needing to indulge in the relative sense of freedom of this emotion, he let out a loud yawp of elation inside the empty hallowed halls of a past that he no longer thought was relevant and decided to take his old motor bike for a spin – a passion that he had put away for so long after claiming the life of another adopted daughter.

Little did he know that science that has kept him predictable and carefully preserved albeit a little stale. Science, however, was a jealous mistress who would make itself known sooner rather than later. And as he was zipping by at a 120 mph, science reared its ugly head in the form of faulty brakes and a tree where ironically he carved the words "Rupert loves Charlotte". Wasn't it in Physics that science basically said that no two things can occupy the same thing at the same time? As he skids to a stop and closes his eyes, the last thought being that after losing someone in a motorcycle accident that he was never a big fan of irony. That and Chloe, his not-quite daughter but was someone he thought was his second chance to belong to someone real and to someone who was more than just an idea.

***

It seems that Belle Reve is a vortex where everything seems to go slowly, it's as if time itself was going backwards rather than forward. It's been a month since Dr. Hawkins has left. Feeling restless and a little bit uncertain about the future, Chloe was taciturn, melancholy and angry in turns. At one point, she even suspected that Dr. Hawkins has changed his mind about adopting her and has gone to England to hide. Angry at herself for thinking this and angry at Dr. Hawkins for not even calling her since he left, in an act of childish rebellion Chloe has taken to hanging out with Anita more and more which Dr. Hawkins has prohibited.

So as it was like every night since Dr. Hawkins has boarded United to Heathrow, Chloe has just turned in for the night. Or rather day. Being left to her own devices during the day, there was not much to do since she has not seen Bruce after the Daws and Forsythe wedding. Clark was equally as scarce, which should no longer surprise her but his absence still surprising when it happens, like finding a yawning gap of silence that could not be filled.

And while the day seems to leave her feeling alone, the night always seems so crowded with her thoughts, her hopes and her secret fears. At night, she feels like she is always being watched all the time and shaking this off as something of her overactive imagination. She remembers one particular memory of her father – her real one when she was a child. After her mother felt, she felt the same way like all her thoughts were going to burst out and explode and her Dad used to sit by her until she would fall asleep, brushing her hair away from her face saying, "Chlo, there's no need to be afraid. The night lights on and so long as it is, you'll know that Daddy's always here to chase the bogeyman away."

Not bothering to correct him that it wasn't that she feared. Chloe remembers one particular night a couple of months after her mother left. Not wanting to sleep, afraid that she would find that the night has re-arranged her life again. It was the only time she has ever told Gabe what was bothering her, "But Daddy...I don't want to sleep. What if the night takes you away like Mommy?"

Her father looking so sad and tired, felt so helpless and angry at the same time. Angry at his wife – the sensitive and effervescent Moira who he fell in love with because she was free and in the end who refused to be tethered to their life together. At the various little things that drove them apart. But mostly at himself for not being enough to secure the gossamer being that was his wife. And as he looks at Chloe who was the unwilling participant in their grown up drama, all he could do was make the same promise that he tells himself every night but never really actually articulates, thinking that she was far too young to understand, "Oh sweetie, I love you and I will fight to hold onto you. So tight that the night would go away, tired and empty-handed. Sleep. You'll find me here tomorrow. I promise you that."

The past few days, the sense of being watched was more acute. Just chalking this up to the confusion brought on by Bruce and the infuriating fact that she missed his conceited snarking, it was like she was eight all over again. The truth was there was no one there and it was just her thoughts that seemed to be crowding her out during the night. Ironically, though this time she was right in thinking that someone was watching her. Bruce Wayne may have been conspicuously absent since the non-kiss but he was there every night. Watching over her and anxious to make amends but not knowing the right words to do so. Not trusting himself enough not to screw things up like he does with everything he has loved in the past.

So not wanting to bother her until then, he watches her from afar just like every other night. Unlike every other night though, suddenly put on alert by the bustle of activity as Nurse Owens barges into Chloe's room and shakes her gently awake.

"Chloe, sweetheart. Wake up." Pity and grief leaking out of her for being the one to shatter her relative peace that she has just found. Seeing her there sleeping suffused with a childlike innocence, she hated it that she would be the person that would have to shatter this.

Stretching like a discontented cat, she moans, "Mmmmm...it's not time for therapy yet. 5 more minutes Nurse Owens. I promise to put in a good word for you to Dr. Hawkins."

"Chloe, wake up. I don't know how to tell you this. You've been so close. It's...it's Dr. Hawkins."

At hearing this, groggy and a blanket of sleep obscuring her thoughts, Chloe slowly sits up "What is it?"

"I don't know how to say this sweetheart. But he was in a motorcycle accident. He...he..." not knowing how to finish it and dash this poor young woman's dreams.

It takes a minute for her to process what was said but it was enough for her to shake off whatever sleep-induced haze that she was in just a mere 60 seconds ago. Blissfully unaware of how her life was about to change yet again. Uncomprehending of the situation, of what was left unsaid but yet knowing what it meant, Chloe shakes her head, a false sense of calm cloaking her words, "No. No. No. No. You must be mistaken. Dr. Hawkins would never ride a motorcycle. He just..."

"I'm sorry dear but he didn't make it. His family just called and..." the rest of Nurse Owens words were obscured and Chloe felt as if she was hearing it under water or that she was talking in another language and couldn't make much sense of it. "Honey? Did you hear what I just said?"

Chloe jumps out of the bed and tries to change from her pyjamas. Her actions deliberate but for her hands that were shaking, it seemed as if Nurse Owens came to tell her that Dr. Hawkins would be late instead of that he will never come back. Her voice steady, she turns to Nurse Owens, "I want to talk to Clark. Call him now. I need to talk to him." The last word hinting at the growing desperation that she was struggling to control, "Please."

"Ok. We'll do that sweetie. Just stay here and wait for him" Nurse Owens gets up and glances at Chloe who stands ramrod straight in front of her closet as if forgetting what she was doing there. Nurse Owens walks out without a backward glance but thinks the better of it and goes back to squeeze the young girl's arm in silent comfort before shutting the door quietly. It was only then that Chloe allowed herself to be consumed by her grief. Clutching her middle and one hand covering her mouth muffling the choking sobs that threatened to drown her.

Having heard the entire thing, Bruce gets on the phone and dials a number that he was loathe to using. A dull ache roaring in his ears thinking of how he wanted it to be him that she would turn to in times like these. But Chloe would need someone and if it meant getting comfort from a big dumb alien, he would not deny her this and so he barks into his handset the minute the other party picks up, "Kent! Get your ass down at Belle Reve. It's Chloe. She needs you. "


End file.
